Without Her 2
by Emerald
Summary: The long awaited sequel to Without Her. She almost killed her nemesis once... and she's out to try again. This time, Gwen won't stop until she does...
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is the sequel and finale to Without Her, a story also written by me. This story has been over a year's work and I'm thoroughly proud of it. Enjoy!

Feedback and reviews are adored!

- Sophia

* * *

_Chapter 1_

It had been four months since the accident, and only three weeks since the wedding. All was well and they were happy. Happier than they could have expected. It seemed like everything was perfect. But that was the problem. It seemed like it…

* * *

Ethan walked into is home, passing his keys between both hands. "Hello!" he called. His home was filled with so much love. He and his wife had decorated together and the very atmosphere warmed his heart. The front room was no where near the size of the parlor of the house he grew up in but it was still filled with his wife's flare that made him smile. "Where are you!" he called. There was no answer. "Hello, honey? You home?" He called again. Still no answer. Ethan turned about the house a bit, looking for his lost wife. Just as he was about to go upstairs, she turned up.

"Did you lose something?" Theresa asked, emerging from the kitchen.

"No, not really. I lost someone."

"Really? And who would that be?" she asked with a smile as she walked towards him.

Ethan welcomed her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. "My wife. You haven't seen her around by any chance, have you?"

"Hmmm, don't think so. What does this wife of yours look like?" Theresa asked mischievously.

"Well, she's gorgeous…"

"Oooh, really?"

"Irresistible…," he said, leaning in, nuzzling her neck.

"I see…" she barely managed to get out, slowly losing all concentration.

Suddenly, Ethan stopped the action with his mouth and caught her hand. He brought it closer to his face as to examine it. "Huh, would you look at that. Her wedding ring looks just like this."

"Really? Huh… Well, then I confess. I'm your wife," she admitted smiling.

"I would've never guessed it." They smiled at each other before they kissed-- a kiss that quickly turned passionate.

One could definitely tell that they were still in their corny, honeymooning period. Nothing but late nights, love, and passionate kisses. Something that they both wanted never to end.

Their arms wrapped around each other and they uneasily moved from the living room towards the stairs, still locked in a kiss.

Suddenly, Theresa broke the kiss and spoke. "Wait, wait, wait, Ethan… We can't do this."

Ethan spoke against her lips. "Of course we can. We're married."

"No, no we can't."

"And why not?" Ethan asked rather flustered.

"Little Ethan, he's upstairs."

"No, I took him to Sheridan's. Daddy had other plans." His sentence trailed off as he planted kisses in the hollow of her neck, tickling her with the vibration of his breath.

"You know you can't keep expecting Sheridan to take him. She has a life-"

Ethan silenced her with a kiss. "Shhh, don't interrupt a man when he's working." Theresa threw her head back in pleasure silently and allowed her own passion to overtake her completely. Not breaking the kiss, Ethan lifted Theresa's legs from the floor and carried her up the stairs in his arms. When Ethan finally found the bedroom, he laid Theresa on the bed and stared down at her godlike beauty.

Theresa not knowing what else to do, smiled. She played with the hair at the base of Ethan's neck and looked at him endearingly. "What?" she asked.

Ethan shook his head slightly and laughed at her question. "You are so beautiful."

The compliment made Theresa blush. She didn't know what else to say so she kissed him. They kissed again and again, and Theresa ran her hands over Ethan's chest as he reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. She sighed softly when he began to caress her back with his hands.

She rolled atop him and began to undo the buttons keeping his shirt closed as she kissed him. When all the buttons were undone, Theresa slid her hands inside and spread her palms across his chest, feeling the drumming of his heartbeat. His skin was hot to the touch and the feel of her hands was making him even hotter.

Ethan slid the thin straps of the dress off Theresa's shoulders and pushed it off her body; she was in nothing but panties. Ethan's hands explored her body every which way and held her close to him.

As Theresa kissed Ethan, she tossed her hair back and forth, letting it spill onto his chest. Ethan's shirt was soon discarded as were his pants. Their hands explored each other's bodies, and then, an interruption:

Ethan pulled away, his chest heaving. "Hey, are you sure you want to do this?"

Theresa's pulse was fast and her breathing was shallow when she stopped in shock. "What?"

"Well, you're right. We can't always expect Sheridan to watch Little Ethan all the time. She does have a life too. You know, maybe I should go get him right now. Yeah… yeah, I think I should."

"What! Don't you dare!" Theresa exclaimed.

"But weren't you just saying-"

"Shut up," she whispered.

"But-" He couldn't continue speaking when Theresa landed her mouth on his. Still Ethan tried to talk.

"Well… are you… sure… 'cause…. Little… Ethan…," he tried against her mouth.

"I said shut up," she said affirmatively.

Ethan stared at her smiling. "I love you."

Theresa kissed him in response. "Make love to me. Make love to me now." He didn't need anymore than that and he reached for her. His hand grabbed her face quickly and brought her to his forcefully, bruising her lips. Theresa's breath caught when he kissed her between her breasts and licked the way back up to her mouth. His hands explored her and his touch sent electricity through her being. He took her breasts in his hands and a soft moan escaped her lips. She arched her back slowly as he rolled atop her in one motion. Theresa ran her hands through his hair as he held himself above her, torturing her as he rubbed his chest against her. She whimpered for more but that was when he stopped. He just looked at her and she read his eyes.

Ethan's hands went down and further still. Theresa felt him on her body and responded immediately. He pressed his thumb deep into her and he heard the sharp intake of her breath; a shiver went through her at the shock of pleasure. She stiffened and arched against him and dug her fingers hard into his arms, but that didn't make him stop. Theresa's muscles contracted harder and harder. She was close now, so close. It was then that Ethan stopped his pleasurable torture. Theresa opened her eyes in shock. He just smiled at her. Ethan came above her and kissed her deeply. He pulled back and gazed deep into her brown eyes. Ethan moved and Theresa felt him brush against her. She gasped for breath at the shock, and before she could exhale Ethan joined himself inside of her.

Theresa's intake of breath was loud and she shut her eyes at the sensation. Ethan stopped, allowing Theresa to adjust to him for the moment. When Ethan could tell that she was ready, he continued further into her. Theresa's fingers dug deeper in his skin with every moment forward that he made. He went slowly, almost making her body beg for more. When he had finally joined himself inside of her completely, they were both panting. He sank back and watched her as he thrust himself back in. Theresa's eyes shut tight but they opened just as fast.

Theresa wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and pulled his lips to hers. He kissed her back as he continued a rhythm- Theresa's hips followed Ethan's. She breathed with every stroke and came closer and closer to her peak. Ethan sensed this and stopped. Again, he teased with his hands before she was brought back to the same place. He entered her again and this time, he wouldn't stop.

Her muscles contracted harder and harder around him. Theresa's body was shivering at what was to come. Theresa felt it coming and her body tensed. Ethan quickened his pace and kissed her again. Finally, Theresa's muscles couldn't take it anymore and stopped in a spasm. Theresa screamed Ethan's name in the final threshold of pleasure as he reached his climax with her. And then, Ethan collapsed on top of her, waiting to catch his breath.

When their breathing had returned to normal, Ethan laid next to Theresa and took her in his arms and she curled into him. He kissed her forehead and stroked her back.

"Wow…" Theresa whispered and Ethan nodded happily. "Who knew marriage could be so amazing?"

"Well as long as you don't forget how to do that thing with your back, it will be." Theresa looked up him, smiled and kissed his lips. They fell back into their passion, their blood racing with desire.

Suddenly, they were interrupted:

RING!

Theresa broke the kiss.

RING!

"Wait, wait, wait-" She tried to get out with Ethan's lips on hers.

RING!

"Let the machine get it," he said trying to distract her.

RING!

Ethan succeeded in taking her mind off of the ring and she allowed him to capture her.

"Hi, you've reached the Winthrop residence," the machine recording began, echoing Theresa's voice. "Sorry we can't come to the phone right now. Please leave your name and number and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks." BEEP!

"Hi, guys, it's Matt. Theresa, how you doing, girl? Ethan, listen, we just got a letter by messenger." Ethan and Theresa both stopped to listen. "You're not gonna like this." Ethan turned, now listening intently. "It's about Gwen…" At the sound of her name, Ethan rolled over to the bedside table to the phone. "It looks like Reb-" But before Matt could finish his sentence, Ethan picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Matt?" Ethan started, listening to Matt's fast talking on the other line. "What! I don't believe this. How can she- Right, yeah, yeah, that's fine. I can't-no, not right now. Because… I'll take care of it. Listen- I said, I'll take care of it. Yeah. Mmm hmmm, thanks. Okay, bye," he ended, hanging up the phone.

Theresa, hunched on her elbows to look at her husband as he put the phone down. "What's wrong?"

Ethan turned to her. He didn't speak at first, he was too busy trying to sort out the words in his head. "Rebecca… Rebecca, oh, God, I hate that woman."

"What, what's the matter? What happened?" Now she was almost scared.

"Rebecca somehow got Gwen's court date moved up to tomorrow."

"She can't do that," Theresa said in fear. "The court date wasn't supposed to be for another month or so."

"Well, I guess you can do anything if you're Mrs. Julian Crane."

"Well, if that's the case, do you think that Rebecca has already bought out the judge?"

Ethan thought for a moment. "No, I don't see how. I made sure that I got an honorable judge on the bench for this one. I've known Judge Malloy almost my entire life. He wouldn't take a bribe when it comes to one of my cases."

"Are you sure?"

Ethan took her face in his hands, making her look at him, wanting her to believe every word he was about to say. "I'm positive. Now, don't worry. Everything'll be fine." He kissed her forehead and held her close._ There is no way that I'm going to let Gwen get away with what she did to you,_ he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

The next morning, bright and early, Ethan left the house and went to the building where his practice was. As Ethan entered the lobby, he heard the secretary answering the phone. "Good morning, Winthrop and Ryan. This is Michelle, how may I help you?" Then she spotted Ethan entering the front doors. "Please hold." Michelle turned to Ethan when he stopped at her desk, just as he had every morning before. "Good morning, Mr. Winthrop."

"Morning, Michelle," Ethan greeted.

"He's waiting for you in your office," she said, cocking her head towards the door that led to his legal sanctuary.

"Thank you." Ethan headed down the hall, greeting everyone as he went. When he opened the door to his office, he found his partner, Matt, sitting in his chair, sleeping, with his feet on the desk. Not wanting to disturb him, Ethan closed the door silently and threw his jacket on the couch next to him. "So this is what you do when I'm not here…"

Matt twitched and turned, knocking his feet off of the desk. A snort escaped him and he finally opened his eyes. "What?…. Hmmm…. Oh, Ethan! Hey… I was.. just…uh…"

"Be careful, I might think you were snooping around in my office or something."

"Sorry, I was waiting for you to show up and I…," Matt trailed off, yawning.

"What's the matter? Falling asleep on the job now? And here I thought you were the hardest working attorney in New England."

"Well, I was, I mean… I am…" Matt said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's all right, man. What are you doing here so early anyway?"

"Well, I was doing some research on your computer. Mine is down or something. So I came in here last night and I guess I just fell asleep. What are you doing here so early?"

"Well, this whole thing with Gwen kept me up all night."

"Oh, sure."

"What?"

"You're trying to telling me that Gwen, your ex, kept you up all night and not your exquisitely delicious wife?"

Ethan shot a cocked eyebrow at Matt. "Look, let's leave how I spend my evenings with Theresa out of this."

"Ooh, so you did get some action last night…," Matt said, getting excited.

"Matt…"

"Hey, I'm just saying. If I had a wife that looked like yours, I'd be proud to tell everyone that I never get any sleep."

"Matt, can we focus on the task at hand please?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure…," he lied, letting a moment of silence pass to let Ethan think he was serious. "So…. did she keep you up _all _night?"

"Matt…"

"What? I'm just saying… You're one lucky man that has a body like Theresa's to go home to." Ethan said nothing to his comment. He was right though. "No, seriously. Man to man. If you could compare Theresa to any animal, which would it be?"

"Matt, why are we-"

"C'mon. Just pretend that I'm one of your buddies that you hang out with at the local bar."

"You are," Ethan said with a sound of annoyance.

"Right, so it should be easy for you." Ethan laughed. It still amazed him that Matt somehow had managed to graduate Yale law with honors. "So, would you say she's A: a pussy cat- they're soft and cute, and you have to be gentle with them, a puppy dog- they're cuddly and fun, and energetic, a tigress- they're strong and stubborn, and like to get whatever they want, a tomcat- they're wild and crazy, and seem to never run out of energy, or E: none of the above?" Ethan just stared at Matt and smiled. He got the hint and he smiled back. "She's a tomcat, isn't she?" Ethan didn't answer and smiled instead. "Whew! I knew it! You are one lucky man, my friend!"

"Okay, now that we know what my wife is like in bed, can we please get back to the case?"

"Yeah, sure. You know, tomcats are excellent creatures-"

"Matt-"

"She kept you up ALL night, didn't she? Huh, huh?"

"Matt-"

"Obviously you did something very noble in a past life. There's no telling what I wouldn't do to spend a night with-"

"Matt!"

"Hmm? What?" Matt seemed to have come out of a daze, a fantastic daze…

"Can we please get back to the case?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Matt said as he watched Ethan review some papers from his desk. "So, on a scale of 1 to 10... I'd say Theresa was about a…. 8,9,10? Gimme a ball park figure here."

"Matt, please. Why do you care so much?"

"Why do I care so much? Because I want to know, man!"

"Sorry," Ethan said, turning back to his work.

"Oh, come on! Please?" Matt begged.

Ethan sighed heavily. "Okay, if I tell you, you promise to shut up about my sex life?"

Matt made a solemn 'X' over his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Ethan took a moment, thinking, not sure whether he should share this information or not. "Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10.…… I'd say Theresa was a…. 20."

"Damn! I knew it!"

"Okay, so can we please get back to work now?" Ethan asked, again focusing his attention on the papers in front of him. Still, there seemed to be something on Matt's mind.

"So, she's really that good?"

"Matt…"

"Okay, okay, sorry. Back to work, cap," Matt said, saluting his partner. "So, what are you gonna do? You can't seriously think that you can win against a Crane."

"Matt, Gwen did something that she needs to pay for. She almost killed my wife! The love of my life almost died because of her! And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her walk away with that. There is no way that Gwen is gonna get to go free with what she did to Theresa. I won't allow it!"

"Easy there, killer. I know what she did. And I know how much you want to win because of it. But, don't you think that this is a little too personal for you? I mean, Theresa is your wife. It's gonna be hard seeing this one through fairly, don't you think?"

"Yes, it's personal, Matt. But, it is my duty as a husband to protect my wife and my family. And the only threat that there is to both is Gwen. I need to stop her before she tries to hurt Theresa again."

"You think she would?" Matt asked curiously.

"I'm gonna make sure she doesn't have the chance…" The look in Ethan's eyes was a far and distant assuredness that Matt had never seen before.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can handle it if you-"

"Matt, this is something that I need to do. Gwen is-"

"Look, you're my partner. I'm just afraid of the levels you'll take this to."

"Matt, just, please trust me on this. I have to-"

Suddenly, Michelle, the secretary, interrupted them with a tap on the door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Winthrop," she began. "You're wife is on line one."

"Thank you, Michelle," he said with a nod before she excused herself and let the room quietly. Ethan went to his desk and picked up the phone. "Hello? Hi, Honey," Ethan greeted as he watched Matt leave the room, giving him some privacy. "What are you doing up so early? Well, I didn't want to wake you… No, Sheridan has him still. She said that she was going to take him and Marty to the park. Yeah, don't worry about it. Please, Theresa… Look, I'm taking care of it. Please… don't panic. It'll be fine. I'll talk to the judge and make sure everything is game. Okay? Look, please don't worry about this. Don't worry about Gwen. She's still in custody until after the hearing. Okay, try and get some rest. No, no, you don't need to. I have everything under control here. Just meet me at the courthouse at one. Okay. I'll see you then. Bye. Oh, Theresa? I love you. Don't worry. Yeah, I love you, too. Bye." Ethan hung up the phone, suddenly feeling the impact of the situation at hand here. "Matt!" Matt came charging into the room as soon as Ethan called for him.

"What's up?" Matt asked, and he noticed that Ethan was eyeing him rather worriedly

"Did you get a hold of Judge Malloy?"

"No, I just got his secretary."

"Jesus…" Ethan was nervous now. "Did you leave a message?"

"Yes. I asked her to tell him to call you back. She said that she would."

"Okay… okay. This is good," Ethan said, taking a seat on the couch. "This is good. Yeah. I can do this. It's no problem. It's just like any other case. I'll just treat Gwen like any other faceless criminal. That's it. I'll just walk in there, pretend like I've never seen her before and pretend that winning this case is a mere case of winning money. I don't have to worry about it."

"Nope. It's in the bag."

"Exactly. No problem. I can do this. And when the judge sentences Gwen to a lifetime in prison, I won't care. I'll look her straight in the eyes and say, 'You deserve it.'"

"Right. Don't worry about it," Matt assured him.

Ethan got up from the couch and walked to window behind his desk. Staring out into nothingness, Ethan was quiet. He was silent for a long time. Ethan swallowed hard and fought back welling tears. "You know… This is my fault," he said, turning back to his friend.

"You know that's not true," Matt said, taking a seat on the couch near the door.

"Isn't it? I just can't help blaming myself."

"Is this about the baby?" Ethan didn't answer. "Do you want to talk about it?" Ethan shook his head, trying to hide the rising emotion. Matt stood from the couch and walked towards Ethan. "Ethan, it wasn't your fault. You know that."

Ethan spun in pain. "I should have been there, Matt! She was mine too!" Tears now welled deep into Ethan's eyes.

"I know… I know… But there was nothing you could have done. Nothing…"

"I still feel responsible."

"But you shouldn't," Matt tried again to convince him. "It was Gwen's fault that she was put in jail. You were not the one that made her attack, not to mention almost kill, Theresa." Ethan was silent. "And it certainly was not your fault that Gwen got into a fight with an inmate. You had no way of knowing what would happen behind bars. That is what caused Gwen so much stress that led to her going into early labor. She was having a difficult pregnancy as it was. Then, the doctor had to choose either to save her or the baby. Doctors are trained to save the mothers unless their odds are slim," Matt said, laying a reassuring hand on Ethan's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Ethan."

"But I was the one that sent her to jail, Matt! I told Fox to call the cops. They took her to jail. So it is my fault."

"No, Ethan! Just face the fact, Gwen almost killed someone. She intended on killing her. She almost succeeded. Obviously, God saw it fit that Sarah shouldn't be born into a family where her mother would be locked up for the rest of her life and her father would be with the woman that her mother tried to kill."

"But-"

"No! Listen to me! You have a child now. A beautiful little boy. He may not be biologically yours, but he loves you. You have a gorgeous wife with a body that movie stars would kill to have," Matt said, returning to his topic of Theresa, making Ethan smile at the thought of his wife. "And besides, with the amount of bed action you and Theresa are getting these days, you could have another baby on the way real soon." Ethan was starting to feel better. "Look, you need to step back sometimes and really reevaluate your life. You need look at all the good things you have and appreciate it all. Would you trade everything you have now for what you've lost?"

Ethan eyed his partner and sighed. "You sound like Dr. Phil."

Matt laughed. "Well, I believe that everything happens for a reason. And maybe you can't see it now, but this will all work out for the best. Whatever your destiny is, you'll get there."

"Now you sound like Theresa."

Matt laughed again. "Why? She still talk about Fate all the time?"

"Oh, just every other word…" Ethan trailed off thinking about his wife.

Matt looked down at the pictures on Ethan's desk. There was a picture of Little Ethan, a picture of Theresa, a picture of Ethan and Theresa smiling at each other, a picture of Ethan and Theresa on their wedding day, and a picture of Pilar. What a beautiful family he has. Matt stared into Ethan's eyes and smiled. "Wow, you really love her, don't you?"

Ethan was brought out of his daze and smiled. "Yeah…. I always have…"

"You are one lucky man, you know that?" Ethan smiled again and nodded. "So, don't worry about it. Any judge will be able to see the truth and will seek justice for both you and your wife." Ethan nodded. He was silent. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Nope."

"It's a cinch."

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not the top attorney in the state for nothing," Ethan said, now feeling confident.

"Exactly…"

Ethan was silent and looked around his office. Then at his partner. He was silent still. Then: "Matt…," Ethan started slowly.

"Yeah?"

"What am I gonna do? She's counting on me. What if I fail her? What if I can't win? What if Rebecca finds some way to-"

Matt snapped his fingers in Ethan's face. "HEY!" Ethan stopped and looked up. "What are you talking about? You just said it, you are the top attorney in the state. There is no way that you can lose. You won't," Matt assured his friend with a smile. "This is an open and shut case. Any judge will be able to see that. I mean, just a couple months ago, Theresa was on her death bed because of Gwen. That can't be overlooked. So, don't worry about it. I have all of the paperwork ready to go. All we need to do is show up in court and dazzle the jury just like you always do."

Ethan nodded. "You're right. There's nothing to be worried about."

* * *

The hours seemed to have flown by and it was already a quarter to one. Ethan found himself at the Harmony Courthouse and sat nervously in a chair right in front of the large wooden doors leading inside of the courtroom where Gwen's fate would be decided.

He sat fidgeting, just as he always did when he was nervous. His hands had turned ice-cold in apprehension and he checked his watch every minute it seemed and still the hands were in the same place.

Ethan heard the sound of heels marching on the marble floor, yet he paid no attention to them. All he could do was think of the time that he was to spend in that courtroom. What would he say? What would he do? What was to happen if he didn't know what to say? What would Gwen's sentence be? Suddenly, Ethan was dragged from his thoughts.

There was a woman approaching him.

"Ethan?"

Ethan looked up at the woman, and as if in shock, he stared at her for a moment.

"Ethan… what's the matter?" Ethan stood, finally realizing it was Theresa. "Hey," he said hugging her.

"Honey, are you all right? You're not looking so good."

"Hmm… me? Oh, I'm fine. I'm just… you know, I'm just a little anxious to get this over with." Ethan sat back down on the bench and Theresa sat with him.

"So am I. I've waited so long to close this chapter of my life, Ethan. And today, finally, Gwen will be out of our lives…. forever. We can finally move on with our lives and not look back."

Ethan smiled at her, trying to believe her_. I wouldn't be so sure about that. _He thought to himself.

Ethan and Theresa stood from the bench and turned to see three people walking towards them. It was Gwen. Rebecca was beside her as was a man, he was probably Rebecca's catch for the day.

"Gwen…," Theresa whispered.

"That's right, Theresa. Scared?" Gwen asked, a dangerous spark in her eye.

The three of them stopped in front of Ethan and Theresa, and Rebecca seemed to look as smug as ever. "Well, if it isn't Ethan. My ex-son-in-law…. and his whore," she stated with beady eyes. "It's a pity Gwen didn't kill you, Theresa. Everyone's lives would have been so much better."

"Rebecca, that's enough," Ethan said angrily. "Leave your futile insults for the judge to hear. That way he can charge you for them." Rebecca smiled smugly.

"How've you been, Ethan?" Gwen asked him with a smile. Ethan didn't respond and just looked at her in anger as he pulled Theresa closer to him, watching Gwen's lip curl.

"So, Rebecca, how on Earth did you manage to get the trial moved to today?" Ethan asked, avoiding Gwen.

"Oh, not how I, how my attorney did."

"I doubt very much that any attorney would be able to do that kind of magic, Rebecca."

"Well, mine certainly can," she said smiling.

"Who is your attorney anyway?"

"Oh, Ethan, allow me to introduce," she said as she pointed to the man on her left. "This is-"

"Save it, Rebecca. I couldn't care less who your new sugar daddy is."

Rebecca eyes tightened in anger. Nonetheless, she wasn't going to let it deprive her of the pleasure of making this announcement. "Uh! He is not my sugar daddy, but if you're really looking for one, why don't you ask Theresa? I'm sure she'd hook you up."

"I said, that's enough, Rebecca!"

"As I was saying, before I was very rudely interrupted, this is," again she pointed to the man on her left, showcasing him with a smile, "Sydney Phelps." Ethan's heart almost stopped. Theresa looked on in confusion. "Ah, so you've heard of him. Good."

"No, I haven't." She looked up at her husband who clearly had. "Ethan… Who is he?"

"Oh, let me. Please," Rebecca begged. "Sydney Phelps, one of the most accomplished attorneys in the nation. Many a timed acclaimed lawyer for many celebrities and rich socialites like myself."

Sydney stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you. Please, call me Syd."

Ethan stood in shock. He didn't move to shake Syd's hand, which quickly curled away. "You… you… you hired him!"

"Yes, indeedy. Surely you didn't think that I would hire that choir-talking, rhyming fool, Woody Stumper!"

"But…but aren't you supposed to be working on the Michael Jackson case in L.A.?"

"Well, yes, but Becks here made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Syd said, putting his arm around Rebecca and smiled down at her.

"Oh, I just bet she did…" Rebecca didn't even catch the insult.

"So, you see, Ethan. No judge could overlook Syd's reputation and would never deny him a court date if he really insisted on it. Simple as that."

Gwen was smiling the entire time, never taking her eyes, that showed in disgust, from her ex-husband and his new wife. Quickly, she looked down at her watch. "Well, we really should be getting inside. It's almost time to start."

"Here come the fireworks. Theresa, you ready?" Rebecca asked smugly.

Gwen walked in the courtroom first, followed by Rebecca and Syd, who had their arms wrapped around each other. Ethan watched them go and all of a sudden, he felt short of breath. Just then, Matt walked in the door.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, I'm a little late. Traffic was murder. And then the taxi couldn't park because Rebecca's big ass limo was right outside. Where is the tramp anyways?" It was then that he saw their faces. "What's the matter? Ethan?"

Ethan looked down at Theresa. "Honey, why don't you go sit down. I'll be right in."

"No, I'm gonna go to the ladies room. I wouldn't want to be in their alone with those monsters. I'll be right back." Theresa kissed Ethan on the cheek and then walked to the restroom.

When Theresa was gone, Matt finally spoke. "So… what's up?"

"Rebecca hired someone we didn't expect."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she hired Sydney Phelps."

"Sydney Phelps! THE Sydney Phelps! Oh, man! Where is he? Maybe I can get his autograph."

"Matt! This is serious. I had no idea I was going up against someone like that. I mean, he defends celebrities. And they're usually guilty!" Ethan was silent and looked around, gathering his thoughts. "Well, it shouldn't be too bad. Like you said, this is an open and shut case. Not much has changed. I just need to go in there and do my stuff and we should be fine.

Matt looked up at him as if he were a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Um… actually…"

"Matt?" Matt said nothing. "What happened?"

"Sorry, buddy. I'm not sure how to tell you-"

"Tell me what?"

"I got a call on the way here. It turns out that Rebecca… somehow managed to…."

"Managed to what?" Ethan asked, somehow sensing the answer.

"Rebecca somehow managed to move Judge Malloy from the bench on this one."

"WHAT! HOW THE HELL DID SHE MANAGE THAT!"

"I don't know. Look, Ethan, this is-"

"No, Judge Malloy was my last hope. I knew that he would always stand by me. But-" Ethan stopped short when he saw Theresa approaching them.

"Ethan, what's the matter? I could hear you in the bathroom. What happened?"

Ethan didn't know how to tell her. He couldn't tell her. But somehow, someway, he managed to tell her that Rebecca… that Rebecca had already won…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Theresa sat in anxiety as Gwen gave her testimony. She fidgeted and tore a piece of paper into a million smaller ones. Then the time had come.

It was her turn.

On shaky legs, Theresa stood from her seat and somehow made her way up to the witness stand.

"Please state your name for the record," stated the bailiff.

"Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop."

"Please raise your right hand," the bailiff continued and Theresa did as she was told. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do," Theresa swore.

"You may be seated." Theresa took her seat as Ethan rose from his.

"Now, Mrs. Winthrop," Ethan began professionally. "You have testified earlier saying that the defendant in question attacked you. Would you care to elaborate?"

Theresa looked uneasy, and yet answered with a slight nod. "Well, I had gone down to the pool to do some thinking. I was alone. Everyone else was upstairs. I was down there when she showed up." Theresa started her story and it was as if it was all happening before her very eyes…

* * *

_"What bothers you the most, Gwen, is knowing that your husband is in love with another woman. Your husband is in love with me," Theresa said, pointing a finger at Gwen before turning and walking away. _

It was as if a fire had been lit inside of Gwen as she leapt for Theresa in rage. Gwen jumped on top of Theresa and grabbed her neck. Gwen's hand clamped down and squeezed hard. "DAMN YOU, Theresa! DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

Theresa's windpipe contracted at the sudden tightness and her lungs were soon screaming for more oxygen.

"Gw… Gwen…," Theresa managed to get out. "Gwen… you're…. you're choking… me…"

"That's the idea." And Gwen tightened her grip.

Theresa began to lose consciousness as her eyes fluttered; her brain was trying to save as much oxygen as possible. Gwen smiled to herself as she watched Theresa's body become even more lips and stopped fighting. She put her fingers to Theresa's pulse. It was there, but barely.

"I'm going to get rid of you once and for all, you bitch." Gwen looked down at the pool and plunged Theresa in. Theresa's left temple crashed to the pool floor, followed by her shoulder. An immediate crack sounded. Theresa's body floated to the top of the water, and Gwen could see the cut on her head.

Quickly, Gwen grabbed Theresa's neck once again and held in under water, making sure that she wouldn't receive any oxygen.

* * *

"I don't remember anything else, but I assume right after, you and Fox showed up," Theresa explained to Ethan.

"Yes." Ethan nodded. "So, basically, you're telling the court, that Ms. Hotchkiss attacked you for no reason other than saying things that she didn't agree with?"

"Yes, pretty much."

"And, would you please tell the court what injuries she caused you in this attack?"

"Umm.. well, I was in a coma for about two days-"

"On life support, correct?" Ethan interjected.

"Yes. I had a broken collar bone, a concussion, and," she stopped to point to her head, "a head wound that resulted in this scar."

"Right. Did you ever have the chance to fight back? Or did you have the opportunity to inflict any such injuries on Ms. Hotchkiss?"

"I never had the chance to fight back. Gwen grabbed me and immediately tried to kill me. I tried as hard as I could to fight back, but I wasn't able to and I couldn't even land a scratch on her."

Ethan swallowed hard, trying to erase the invading images of Theresa meeting death. "Thank you," he said, smiling uneasily at Theresa. "No further questions, Your Honor."

"Mr. Phelps," the judge began. "You may proceed."

Syd stood from his seat and walked to Theresa, nodding in Rebecca's direction in reassurance. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop." Theresa nodded in response. "Now, you say that my client, Gwen Hotchkiss, attacked you for absolutely no reason, correct?"

Theresa leaned into the microphone in front of her. "Yes, that's correct."

"And you're sure about this?"

"Yes. I tried the best I could to get away from her. I tried to go get Ethan, but she wouldn't stop. She-"

"And you very well knew that she was pregnant-"

"Yes-" Again he cut her off.

"And that she was having an extremely difficult pregnancy?"

"I did, but-"

"And if I'm not mistaken, you and my client have had your riffs in the past, correct?"

Theresa said nothing and Syd walked back to his bench to retrieve a yellow legal pad. It was tattered and old, but also filled with plenty of writing. "Now, it says here, that you and my client were engaged in a brawl in your home a couple years back, yes?"

"Yes, but that wasn't my fault! She attacked-"

"Yes, and it also says that you later attacked her with a pair of scissors and stabbed her in the back."

"I had a prenatal condition and-"

"And it also says here that you confessed to, were tried, and convicted of murder in the first degree…" Syd continued with the accusations.

"I only did it because I was trying to save-"

Ethan shot up. "Objection!"

"Overruled!" The judge yelled back.

"And were later sentenced to the death penalty…"

"Yes, but it was-"

"Your Honor… Need I continue? This clearly-"

"Objection," Ethan began. "Your Honor, with all due respect, Mr. Phelps has absolutely no right to extend his professional opinion in the duration of this court."

"Sustained."

Syd put his hands up as if her were about to be arrested. "My apologizes, Your Honor." He turned back to Theresa. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I was reading off the crimes that have been reported between both you and my client. Now that I look, I see something funny… I see here that you have been reported as attacking my client many times, but none do I see here of her attacking you…"

Again Ethan rose from his chair in a split second. "Objection!"

"Overruled."

"Now, tell me, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop, do you think that it would be more believable that you, a woman that has many reports filed against her and a criminal record, was attacked for absolutely no reason by a woman that has no criminal record whatsoever? Or, would it be more prudent to suggest that you were the one that did the attacking and were simply hit with the bad luck this time around?"

Theresa was crying now. How did he manage to do this? "I told you…. she… she just… jumped on top of me…. I couldn't… I couldn't…" Theresa couldn't finish her sentence and cried into her hands.

Syd smiled. "No further questions."

Everything after that seemed to be a blur.

Theresa now sat in the bench right outside of the courtroom in which she had just had the worst experience of her life. Somehow that monster of a man, Sydney Phelps, had single handedly managed to convince the court that she was not the prey as she claimed, but the predator.

This was wrong.

All that Theresa could feel now was Ethan's hand on her back, gently consoling her.

It didn't help.

As Theresa's tears fell, she could hear herself speaking. "How did this happen?" Ethan wasn't sure what to say now. Suddenly, Matt approached.

"Theresa…. Look, I want you to know that I'm really sorry, honey. But, don't you worry, we're gonna appeal this one until the judge gets sick of us. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. We were so sure we had it in the bag."

Theresa wiped her tears and smiled up at Matt. "Thank you."

Matt bent down to hug her. "Always." He pulled back and shook Ethan's hand. "I guess I'll see you in the office tomorrow, bright and early?"

"Yeah. See ya tomorrow." Ethan said goodbye to his friend and partner and turned his attention back to his wife. She needed him.

Ethan turned and saw that Theresa's head was down; she was trying in vain to hide the welling tears. Ethan scooped her in his arms and kissed her hair.

"I just…. I don't understand… How could this have happened… I…." She said, her voice muffled in Ethan's shoulder.

"I don't understand it either. All she got was twenty hours of community service and not even a year of parole. I don't understand how any judge could just acquit a person of something like what Gwen did to you. "

"What can I say? I'm good."

Ethan and Theresa looked up and stared into the eyes of Sydney Phelps.

"Yes, you are." Rebecca laughed. "And in court as well." Sydney smiled down at the voluptuous Rebecca Hotchkiss-Crane.

"How can you live with yourself? Don't you care about justice at all?" Ethan demanded.

"Why, Ethan. You really have gone soft, haven't you?" Rebecca asked.

"My boy, someday you'll learn that in a courtroom, there are many more important things other than justice." Syd spoke to Ethan as if he were just a child.

"Such as?"

"The American dollar. It's a beautiful thing." No wonder Syd worked for celebrities. All he saw were dollar signs. Forget about the innocent lives, forget about justice.

Rebecca and Syd inched out, leaving Ethan and Theresa alone again.

Ethan sat hugging his wife when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He flipped it open and read the caller ID.

"I'm sorry. I have to take this. I'll be right back." Theresa nodded and smiled at him. Ethan kissed her lips tenderly and stood from the bench, speaking on the phone as he stepped away.

Theresa sat on the bench alone, until someone came up to her.

It was a little boy. No older than 12. He was dressed as if he had just gone to play outside and in his hand he held what seemed to be an envelope.

It was an envelope.

"This is for you," he told her.

"Oh… thank you. Who's it from?" Theresa asked, looking around to see another person.

"I don't know."

Before Theresa could ask another question, the boy was gone. She looked down at the envelope. A single word was written on the front.

Theresa

Theresa flipped the envelope over and pulled out the paper that was inside. She unfolded it and stared at the written words.

Quickly, Theresa looked up and scanned the room. That's when she saw her.

Standing in the corner, was Gwen. She had her arms crossed and stood quietly in the shadows near the door.

Theresa continued to stare at Gwen. Gwen smirked and pulled her sunglasses off her head and slipped them on, and as quietly as she had entered, she left the building.

Theresa looked down at the words again.

They sent hot chills up her spine…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ethan returned from around the corner, clasping his phone in his hand. "Honey, that was Sheridan. She said that she was going to take Little Ethan for the night. Marty wants him to sleep over ag-" Something was wrong. "What's the matter?"

Theresa held the letter in her hand and stared into nothingness.

"What is that?" Ethan looked down at the letter and took it from her hands. He read the words staring up at him.

DING. ROUND TWO HAS BEGUN. ARE YOU READY?

Ethan looked back up at his wife in fear. "Where did you get this?"

"Uh… a little boy… ran in here… gave it to me…"

"Did he say who it was from?"

"He didn't need to."

"What do you mean?"

"Gwen was standing in the corner when I read it."

"But-"

"It was her, Ethan."

"Are you sure? It could have been-"

"Ethan… She didn't kill me before and she's gonna try to do it again."

"You don't know that."

"But I do, Ethan!" Theresa was crying now.

"I know Gwen. I know she wouldn't just come after you."

"She did in L.A."

"That was because she saw us on TV and her hormones weren't helping any."

"It doesn't matter, Ethan. She tried to kill me and she knew what she was doing when she did it."

"I know-"

"Ethan, she still wants to kill me. She won't stop until she does."

"You can't think like that. Gwen's just bluffing. She wants to scare you."

"Do you really believe that? Because I sure as hell don't."

"Gwen has absolutely no reason to come after you."

Theresa turned to Ethan suddenly. "She doesn't need a reason, Ethan. She hates me. That's reason enough."

"But-"

"Ethan, she wants to kill me." Theresa stared into his eyes. "What am I gonna do…?"

She fell into his arms and broke down. Ethan stroked her hair and consoled her with soft whispers.

As Theresa cried into his shoulder, Ethan let the lump in his throat pass, holding back his tears. He didn't want her to know how truly worried he was. He knew that that letter was no bluff.

* * *

Rebecca entered the Crane mansion with Syd's arm looped through hers. "Well, that was fun. Did you see the look on that chalupa's face when she lost that pathetic little trial!"

"No… I was too busy looking at you," Syd declared.

"Oh…," she smiled. "And what exactly were you looking at?"

Syd's hands roamed across Rebecca as they stood in the front room. Gwen lurked in the corner near the staircase. She had a strange look upon her face.

Rebecca glanced in Gwen's direction and stopped Syd's motions. "Gwen? What's the matter, Gwennie? Aren't you happy? You beat that little bitch's ass!" Gwen said nothing and Rebecca looked back up to Syd. "Syd, darling, will you give us a moment?"

"But, Becs-" he protested like a child.

"Go wait in my room. I'll be right there."

Syd pouted all the way upstairs as if he were just sent to timeout.

Rebecca walked away and sat on the couch in the living room. She called Gwen over to join her. "Okay, Gwennie. What's the matter? I'm your mother. I always know when something is bothering you. So, spill. What is it?"

"Mother… How can you even ask me that! How can you not know what's bothering me!"

"Gwennie, I know you've had a very trying day. But don't worry. You'll come out on top. You always do. I will see to it that that tacocita never hurts you again. You will get your man back as well. He'll come around sooner or later. There's no way that he'll stay married to that little bitch. You'll see, he'll get sick of her and will come running back to you. You-"

"Mother! This isn't about Ethan! Sure, I'm pissed that the Theresa stole my husband, but mother, I want revenge. I want revenge on that bitch! She killed my baby! She took my husband! She put me behind bars for four months! She took my happiness! And what does she get! She gets to be happy. She gets to have Ethan at her side. She gets to have a child. Whereas for me, I can't have Ethan at my side. I can't have happiness. I can't have a child! How does it always happen that I get nothing and Theresa snakes away with everything that should be mine! Well, no more. Uh-uh. I want revenge. I want everything that she holds dear. I want her to see her life ripped from her as it was ripped from me."

For the first time in a long time, Rebecca saw a fire in Gwen's eyes. It almost scared her.

Almost.

"Okay, Gwen." Rebecca paused as her lips tilted upwards. "You want revenge on Theresa. And that bitch needs to pay." Rebecca got up and poured herself some coffee from the table. She again took a seat on the couch next to Gwen. She took a sip of coffee and Gwen noticed the far off look in Rebecca's eyes.

"Mother… What is it?"

Rebecca looked at Gwen and smiled. "I have an idea…"

* * *

That evening, Ethan and Theresa went home in a wandering silence.

Ethan turned his eyes from the road to look at Theresa. "Are you all right?" Theresa swallowed hard and finally nodded. It didn't convince Ethan. He could see the fear in her eyes. Ethan reached over and took her hand from her lap. Theresa's gaze moved from the window to her husband's warm face. "Theresa…" She turned to look at him. "Don't worry."

Within minutes they had arrived in their driveway.

Ethan turned off the car and they both sat in silence. Then:

"Theresa…? Do-do you remember our wedding day?" Theresa looked at him with her answer. "We made vows. I made a vow to honor and cherish you. To love you. 'Till death do us part." Tears glazed in Theresa's eyes as she nodded her head in accordance. "I vowed, then and there, to love you and protect you. I will protect you, Theresa. Until my dying breath, I will stand by your side and do whatever I can to protect you." Theresa began to cry softly. Ethan paused for a moment. "Theresa, do you remember what you once told me?" Theresa looked at him, not sure what he was speaking of. "You once told me that our love is incredible. It's magical... It's great… No one can ever come between it. You have to believe that, Theresa. You have to believe that our love will protect you and this family. I swear, I will do everything in my power to protect you and Little Ethan. But you have to believe, Theresa. You have to believe in the power of our love… Like you used to. Can you do that, Theresa?" Theresa didn't answer and looked down as her tears fell freely. "Theresa…" Ethan took her hand and made her look at him. Theresa nodded finally and fell into Ethan's arms and he held her close to him.

He felt it now. Something that threatened the way things were.

It scared him.

Ethan looked down at Theresa and wiped away her tears. "It'll be okay. I promise." Theresa nodded and they walked inside their home together.

Pilar opened the door for them with a welcoming smile.

"Hi, Pilar," Ethan greeted his mother-in-law.

"Hi, Mama."

"Oh, hi, Mija. How'd it go?" Theresa looked down, not wanting to discuss it. "What? What happened?"

"It, uh… It didn't go our way, Pilar," Ethan explained.

"What do you mean? I thought-"

"Rebecca hired some fancy lawyer from LA and changed the judge on me."

"But, but, how can-"

"Don't worry. I already promised Theresa that I'm going to appeal this for as long as it takes."

"But, Gwen, she did get something, didn't she?"

"About twenty hours of community service," Theresa said looking up.

"What! I don't believe this! How could ANY judge allow that? She almost killed you, Theresa! I don't-"

"I guess that's why they say Sydney Phelps is the best," Ethan explained. A silence passed over them all. Pilar didn't know what to say to her daughter; no words seemed capable to console her now.

"Are you okay, mija?"

"I'm fine, Mama. Really. I just… Just a little tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Theresa said with a nod. "I'll be fine."

Pilar didn't want to let it go but she could tell that Theresa had already had a trying day and it was best not to talk about it anymore. "Okay," she said after a long pause. "Little Ethan's upstairs. I put him to bed a little while ago, but I doubt if he's sleeping."

"Oh, it's okay. Maybe he just needs his mommy's touch."

"I guess I should be on my way then. It's late," Pilar said, leaning into to hug her daughter goodbye.

"You don't have to go, Pilar," Ethan tried. "There's an extra room. You are more than welcome to use it."

"Oh, well, thank you, Ethan. That is very kind of you, but I really should get home. Besides, I haven't lit my candle yet."

"Thank you for watching Little Ethan tonight, Mama. I really appreciate it."

"Of course. I love being with my grandson."

"I'll call you tomorrow, Mama."

"Okay," Pilar said as she hugged her daughter goodbye. "Get some sleep, huh? You look exhausted." Theresa offered an outline of a smile in accordance. "It'll be okay, huh? Ethan," she said, turning back to her son-in-law. "Take care of her."

"I will," Ethan promised.

Pilar laid her hand on Theresa's shoulder softly. "Okay, well, just try to get some sleep, okay?"

"I will," Theresa said.

"Ethan, make sure she gets some sleep."

"Don't worry. She's in good hands."

"I know. And I know you two and your… activities. Get some rest… both of you."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight," Pilar said again.

"Goodnight." Ethan and Theresa said in unison. Pilar walked out and Ethan closed the door behind her.

Something was definitely wrong, he could feel it deep inside.

After Pilar left, Theresa went upstairs and tucked her son into bed, giving him assurance that he could fall asleep now- his mommy was home.

Little Ethan had closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift. Theresa watched him doze off and saw the familiar childlike flush on his cheeks. How was it that everything in her life had led up to this moment, to the moment where she was in complete awe of life? The life that she had created and still loved with every fiber of her being.

Theresa leaned down and kissed him. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," she whispered against his cheek. Theresa once more made sure that he was snuggled into his bed tightly before getting up and walking to the doorway. She lowered the light all the way and stood there, watching him.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" A voice from behind her asked. Theresa turned to find her husband's loving eyes staring back at her.

"Yes, he is," she answered back.

"You know," he began, wrapping his arms around her. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I would do anything to protect both you and our child."

"I know." She was silent then, pulled into her own thoughts. "I'm just so scared. What if Gwen's right? I mean, it is my fault and I deserve to pay."

"No," Ethan said firmly, taking her face in his hands. "Don't let her get to you. It wasn't your fault and you know it."

"But Gwen doesn't," she interjected. "She blames me for everything. And I'm just afraid that she'll take that to hurt people I love. If anything happens to you or to Little Ethan, I'll never forgive myself."

"Listen to me, Theresa. Nothing's going to happen." She couldn't believe him. She wanted to but something in her gut told her that her life was about to change forever and there was nothing she could do about it…

He held her close to his body and as usual, she felt her worries slowly melting away. Suddenly, their thoughts were interrupted when a faint ring sounded in Ethan's pocket. He reached in and pulled out his cell phone, checking the caller ID. It was Matt.

"Hello?" Ethan answered.

-- Hey, how's it going?

"All right."

-- How you doing? Theresa okay?

"We'll be fine. What's up?"

-- Listen, I just got a call from Joe Cunnane from Seattle.

"Yeah, what's he want now?"

-- Well, you remember that convention in Seattle next month?

"Yeah, what about it?"

-- Well, Joe just called me and it's been moved.

"Moved? To where?"

-- Where and when. It's in Minnesota on Thursday.

"Th- Thursday! That's the day after tomorrow!"

-- I know, I know. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

"But, Matt, I can't. Not with everything that's going on now."

-- Look, look, I know. But, there's no way around it. You did promise Joe that you'd go.

"I know I did. But, can you go for me. I really don't want to leave Theresa like this."

-- I thought about that too, but it's not gonna work. You have to speak at this thing and you know how I am with speeches.

"I know, but please. I can't just leave now."

-- You have to speak about the firm. It's your firm. How am I supposed to do that?

"You're my partner, Matt."

-- I just became your partner in May. I didn't start it. I'm afraid you're gonna have to go.

"I just--"

-- Do you want me to cancel with Joe?

"No, no, no. You can't. I owe him. Uh… I don't-"

-- So, what do you want me to do?

Ethan was silent as he thought it over, staring into Theresa's deep eyes. "Okay. I guess I'll have to go."

-- You sure?

"Yeah."

-- Okay, I'll call him and get the rest of the details and let you know the info later.

"Okay."

Ethan shut his phone and looked back to his wife.

"What's the matter?" Theresa asked.

"It looks like I'm going to Minnesota."

"For what?"

"The annual Myer convention. It wasn't supposed to be for another month but they had to change it."

"Oh, when are you going?"

"The day after tomorrow," he said with a sigh.

"But that's--"

"I know, and I'm sorry. But the coordinator, I promised him I'd go. I won't be gone more than a day."

Theresa didn't know what to say. It felt almost uncanny that her husband, her protector, was leaving her in a time that she needed him the most. She would be all alone- open prey for Gwen to pounce on…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The past day seemed to fly by in an instant and it was time for Ethan to go on his trip.

It was still early in the morning, but Matt was already hard at work at the firm. He was looking over law books that might help in Theresa's case when the phone rang. He didn't take his eyes off the sentence he was reading as he reached for the phone and pulled it to his ear.

"Yello?"

-- "Hello? Is this Winthrop and Ryan?" A woman's voice asked.

"Yes it is. This is Matt Ryan. How may I help you?"

-- "Is Mr. Winthrop in, please?"

"No, I'm sorry he's not. He won't be in the office until Monday. He's leaving for a conference in Minnesota this afternoon. Can I take a message?"

-- "Minnesota, you say?"

"Yes, ma'am. Is he expecting your call?"

-- "What part of Minnesota?"

"I believe he said St. Paul." There was silence. "Ma'am, I am Mr. Winthrop's partner and I would be happy to help you if you need."

No one answered.

"Hello?"

Then the line went dead.

Matt took the phone away from his ear and stared at it. "Weird." That's when he realized that the voice sounded strangely familiar. He just couldn't place it.

_Who was that woman?…_

* * *

Ethan held Theresa close and took in her scent, as if needing to remember her forever. He had no idea that it would be a good thing he did so…

Theresa pulled back and stared into his eyes warmly. "Please be careful."

Ethan leaned in and kissed her lips softly. "I will. Don't worry," he said, stroking her cheek. He looked over and saw Little Ethan playing with his toys at the other end of the room. "Hey, big guy," he said, making Little Ethan look up. "Come say goodbye to me." Little Ethan ran to him. "I'm gonna miss you. Do me a favor, buddy? Take care of your mommy for me, okay? I'm leaving you in charge."

"You got it," Little Ethan responded.

"All right. You're the man of the house for a couple days. I'll see you when I get back, buddy." Ethan dropped his gaze from Little Ethan and turned back to his wife. "I love you."

"And I love you," Theresa said. Ethan kissed her goodbye again, grabbed his luggage, and headed out the door and into the taxi that awaited him.

Ethan's taxi pulled up to the curb in front of his airline at the airport. The driver helped Ethan with his bags from the trunk and then drove away.

Ethan began to walk to the door into the airport when a man stopped him. "Excuse me. Are you Mr. Winthrop?"

"I am. Can I help you?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Yes, I'm with the Myer and Hadley Convention. I've been instructed to take you from here to Lewis Airport."

"Lewis? The private airport?"

"Yes, sir. May I take your bags?" Without another word the man took Ethan's bags and headed in the direction for a black Lexus.

Hesitantly, Ethan got in the car and was silent as the man in the black suit and tie drove him to this other airport.

It was strange. The car pulled right up to the runway and there were many men in black suits awaiting his arrival.

The driver of the car got on the plane first, carrying all of Ethan's luggage. Next, Ethan boarded the plane himself.

The plane was huge. It was beautifully furnished. Somehow, it all looked strangely familiar to him.

Ethan took his seat on one of the couches and made himself comfortable on the obvious Italian leather.

A flight attendant in red appeared from behind a curtain on Ethan's right. "Sir, I would just like to let you know that the pilot is almost ready to fly."

"Thank you," Ethan said to her.

"Can I get you anything before we take off? A brandy perhaps?"

"No, thank you. I do have a question though."

"Yes, sir?"

"What plane is this?"

"Sorry?"

"What plane is this? Who does it belong to?"

The flight attendant opened her mouth to answer when the pilot's voice sounded though the speakers.

"All right. The Crane Jet is ready for take off."

Ethan's ears perked up. "What?"

"Sir?" The flight attendant asked.

"What did the pilot say? Did he say the Crane Jet?"

"Yes, sir. We're ready for take off."

"The Crane Jet?"

"Yes, sir," she said, leaving the cabin as Ethan spoke in shock.

"This is the Crane Jet…" Finally, the words processed and Ethan stood from his seat and ran towards the cockpit. "Wait-"

Then, a heavy object pounded on Ethan's skull.

As he fell to the floor, Theresa's image faded and then his world went black…

* * *

Somewhere, back in Harmony, Theresa sat in the living room reading when a deep churning, almost a punching sensation, thrust in her solar plexus. "Ethan…," she whispered worriedly.

Frantically, Theresa called Ethan's cell phone.

There was no answer.

It rang and rang…

As she stood over Ethan with the gun in her hand, she smiled. Somewhere, in the very depths of what was left of her soul, she felt bad. She couldn't do this to Ethan. But she knew it had to be done.

All of a sudden, a desperate ring sounded in Ethan's pocket. The woman reached under him and dug the phone out, careful not to wake him. She flipped open the phone and spoke. "Hello?"

"Ethan?" Theresa began. "Oh, thank God. I just had the most horrible feeling. Are you all right? Has anything happened?"

The woman on the other line was silent and smiled.

"Ethan?" Theresa asked again.

"Don't worry, Theresa. Ethan's fine," the woman on the other line answered.

Theresa's voice caught in terror. "Gwen…?" Theresa was silent as there was no response. "What have you done to him?"

Gwen laughed slightly. "Oh, nothing. He's just, uh… taking a nap."

Tears fell from Theresa's eyes as many horrible images flashed in her mind. "Where is he?"

"He's around. Not that I'm going to tell you where. I wouldn't make it that easy for you."

"Gwen-"

"I told you, Theresa. Round two has begun. You shouldn't step into the ring if you're not ready to play."

"Gwen, please," she begged. "I don't want- Please, just stop this. I'm begging you."

"You're begging me! Oh, no! Theresa's begging me!" Gwen said before laughing loudly in Theresa's ear. "Well, you know what, Theresa? I want you to. I want you to cry and beg on your knees. So you know what, Theresa? Beg I want you to beg until your little heart is content. I want you to know the pain that you've caused me. I want you to know what it is to lose your husband to your mortal enemy. I want you to know the pain of losing your child."

Theresa broke through. "NO! You leave my son alone! If you touch one hair on his head-"

"You'll what?"

Theresa didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say.

"That's what I thought. Remember, Theresa, I always win. You may have won the battle, but not this time. This time, I'll win the war. And I doubt very much that you'll live through it."

Theresa was shaking and crying. "Please, Gwen, please just let me-"

"You know what Theresa. I want you to know something. I want you to know that I WILL come after you. I WILL come after you and after everything you hold dear."

"Gwen, just-"

"And, if you drag anyone else into this, just know that their lives will be in your hands. You wouldn't want to have anymore lives on your guilty conscience, now would you?"

"Please! Gwen, don't-" Theresa tried again.

"I'll give Ethan your best," Gwen interrupted.

"Wait! Ethan! Please! Gwen! Gwen!"

It was too late. The line went dead…

* * *

What seemed like days later, Ethan awoke, lying in complete darkness.

It was cold.

Very cold.

He stirred and sat up, scared all of a sudden. He got off whatever platform her was on carefully.

His eyes blurred and struggled to make out something. Anything.

Then, a light flashed and Ethan covered his eyes.

"Why, Ethan… What's the matter, sweetheart?" A cold voice asked.

Ethan recognized the voice.

Shocked and terrified at the same time, Ethan tore his hands away from his face and slowly turned towards the voice.

She smiled playfully as he looked at her.

"Hello, sweetheart."

"Gwen," he said in shock.

"You seem surprised."

Ethan shivered and looked down. It was then that he realized that he had nothing on but his boxers. He looked around and saw nothing but a cot and an end table.

Scanning again, he noticed he was confined.

Thick, black bars, crossed and welded together surrounded him.

He was in a cage.

"I hope you like it. I made it myself. Even though, I admit, it wasn't exactly my idea. It's amazing what you can learn from TV. That Jan Spears is quite the genius."

Ethan whipped around. "What is this? Let me out!"

"I don't think so, honey. At least not yet."

"Gwen, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Ethan, don't you know?" Ethan's face crossed in confusion. "I'm finishing what I started." Ethan didn't understand. "I'm taking my revenge, Ethan."

"Revenge?"

"Yes. I'm getting revenge on Theresa for everything she's put me though." She spoke as if she were doing something as simple as going grocery shopping.

"What do you mean? What has she done to you?" Ethan asked desperately.

"WHAT HAS SHE DONE! WHAT HAS SHE DONE, Ethan! She took you away from me. She killed our baby! My baby Sarah is dead because of her!" She paused, composing herself. "And now, I'm going to make her suffer. She's going to wish I had killed her."

"Gwen, leave Theresa alone! She has a son-"

"Yes, I know," she said with a smile. "Poor thing. I really don't want to leave him without a mother. But you know what? He won't be. I will take care of him the way I should be taking care of Sarah."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Theresa took my child and my happiness, and now, it's time that return the favor. She will learn what it is to say, 'An eye for an eye.'"

Ethan was terrified now. His wife and child were in danger and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Isn't revenge a bitch?" she said laughing.

Ethan swallowed hard and tears formed in his eyes. "You're crazy."

"Am I? Well all the more reason to continue."

She began to walk out and Ethan ran to the bars, shaking them hard.

She turned back quickly.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said, pulling out a little remote from her pocket and pressed a small red button. The bars shook and buzzed with a white spark and Ethan's hands burned. He quickly ripped them away from the bars.

"What the hell?" Ethan said, staring at his pained hands.

Gwen waved the remote in her hand. "Electricity powered security. I wouldn't want you going anywhere," she said, turning to leave. "Be good now, you hear." She stopped and turned to him again. "Oh, I almost forgot." She walked towards him and pulled him towards her through the bars.

Gwen pressed her lips to his. He resisted and tried to push her back. She forced her herself on him and finally pulled back smiling.

"I love you," she said to him softly.

Ethan was almost disgusted with her words. "I love Theresa."

"No-no," she spoke softly, stroking his cheek. "Soon, my love. Very soon. I will free you from her wicked charm. And then we can be together. The way it was supposed to be. We will be together. I promise you. In time, you'll see."

Ethan pulled back, away from her reach and glared at her with hate. "No, Gwen. I belong with Theresa. I love her with all of my heart. I could never love you!"

Gwen, a little angered, walked away from him. As she reached the door, Ethan spoke. "I love Theresa!" Gwen paid no attention. "I will always love her!" Ethan screamed and screamed, proclaiming his love for his wife and not for Gwen. When she reached the hallway, she slammed Ethan's door shut and fell to the ground against the wall, clasping her ears and crying.

"NO! YOU LOVE ME!" she cried. "YOU LOVE ME! ME!" She cried and cried, spilling salty tears onto her shirt. "Ethan loves me…," she whispered to herself. "He loves me… He loves me… loves me… loves me… me…"

And still Ethan cried for his love; his wife.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

Again, in Harmony, Theresa frantically scrambled through her purse, trying to find her phone.

It wasn't there.

"Damn it!" Theresa cursed. She ran upstairs and saw her phone in its charging bed. She grabbed the phone and scrolled through the phonebook for Luis' number.

Holding the phone up to her ear, she panted. "C'mon! C'mon! Luis, pick up! Luis!"

-- "Lopez-Fitzgerald," Luis answered.

"Luis!"

-- "Theresa? What's the matter?"

"Luis, I need your help."

-- "What happened?"

"I-" Before she continued, she heard Gwen's words echo in her head. _'I WILL come after you. I WILL come after you and after everything you hold dear.'_ She couldn't risk putting anyone else she loved in danger.

-- "Theresa?" Still caught up in her thoughts, she didn't answer. "Theresa? Are you there? Theresa?"

"Hmmm. I'm here. Sorry," she broke through.

-- "So, what's the problem? Are you all right?"

"Um… yeah. Yeah, don't worry about it."

-- "You sure? You sounded upset before. You want me to come over?"

"No!" She answered straight. "No, it's all right, really. I just, uh- Well, Ethan's not home and I saw a mouse. That's all."

-- "A mouse?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you."

-- "Theresa, are you sure? 'Cause if you need-"

"No, Luis, really. I'm fine," she assured him.

-- "All right then. When is Ethan supposed to come home?"

Theresa shook at the sound of her husband's name, reminding her that he was missing, he was kidnapped and gone with the woman that wanted to kill her. "Uh, tomorrow night I think. But I think he'll be a little late," she stuttered

-- "Okay, well uh- be careful."

"Yeah, I will."

-- "Theresa, if there's something wrong, you know I'm always here for you. No matter what it is."

"I know. Thanks."

-- "Sure."

Again Gwen's words replayed in Theresa's mind. _'I WILL come after you. I WILL come after you and after everything you hold dear.'_ "Hey, Luis?"

-- "Uh-huh?"

"Will you take Little Ethan for a while?" She needed to get her son as far away from her as possible. Gwen would be capable of anything now. Anything…

-- "Sure, why?"

"Well, I just- I just wanted some time alone. Just to myself."

-- "Okay, no problem."

"When can I drop him off?"

-- "Now's fine."

"You sure?" Theresa asked.

-- "Yeah. It's no problem."

"Okay great. I'm sure he and Marty will give you something to do."

-- "Actually, Marty and Sheridan aren't home."

"Why? Where'd they go?"

-- "Sheridan had some charity stuff to do up in Boston."

"And where's Marty?"

-- "Sheridan took him with. She says that he needs to start getting into the charities so that the Crane genes don't take over."

"Oh, well that's good."

-- "Yeah, I would hate to think that we have another Alistair in the making."

"Yeah. So, are you sure? I mean, if it's just you, I can just ask Mama for a while..."

-- "No, no. Don't worry about it. Me and the little man will hang out. You know, play video games, watch some TV, storm the wife's junk food cabinet in the kitchen, it'll be great."

"All right. I'm sure he'll love it." Theresa finally gave in. She didn't like the idea of leaving her son, but if it meant protecting him, she had no choice.

-- "Oh yeah. Don't worry. We'll have a blast."

"Okay, great. So, now's okay?"

-- "Yeah, the Celtics are gonna be on soon. We can pig out."

"All right, as soon as I get him all ready to go, I'll be there."

-- "Okay. So you said that Ethan comes home tomorrow night?" Luis asked curiously.

"Yeah. Why?"

-- "Well, I'd like it if he were there watching you. You sounded a little shaky earlier."

"Well, uh, I told you… I saw a mouse."

-- "Right. I actually remember you loving little critters like that when we were younger."

"No, I didn't."

-- "Yes, you did. You would always follow me and Miguel around trying to help us catch frogs and stuff."

"Frogs, Luis… Not mice. Mice are a completely different story."

-- "All right, all right, all you have to do is tell me that you don't want to tell me whatever it is. Sorry, but a bogus story about a mouse isn't flying with me. I know you better than that."

"Yeah, whatever, Luis. I'll be right over then. I'll see you soon."

-- "Okay, don't forget to bring the boy."

"Haha. See ya soon."

After Theresa hung up with Luis, she ran upstairs and packed Little Ethan's things. She wasn't sure how long she would be gone, but she needed to find Ethan. Somehow, someway, she needed to get to him before Gwen did something.

Or worse, what if she already had…?

Little Ethan seemed very curious and almost agitated that Theresa had shoved him in the car and tore off in the direction of Luis' house.

"Mommy, why are we going to Tio Luis' house?" Little Ethan asked Theresa from the back seat.

"Well, Mommy has some work to do. I'll come get you as soon as I can, okay?"

"When's Daddy coming home?"

Theresa didn't know how to answer. "Um… you know what, I'm gonna make sure he's back really soon, okay? I promise."

Within minutes, Theresa had arrived at Luis and Sheridan's home.

She knocked on the front door and Luis opened it for her. "Hey, what's up, my man!" Luis asked his nephew. "Ready for a basketball game?"

"Yeah!"

"All right, you know the way," he said, ushering in his sister. "Little Ethan, there's some chocolate milk in the fridge if you want some."

Little Ethan left the room and Luis turned back to his sister. "So, you sure you don't want to tell me what's bothering you?"

"I guess you haven't heard," Theresa began.

"Heard what?"

"We went to court the other day."

'How'd it go?"

"Rebecca managed to get Ethan's 'safe' judge dismissed and hired Sydney Phelps." Luis' eyes grew at the name. "Yeah, that's the one. In the end, he made me out to be the monster and Gwen got off with twenty hours of community service."

"You're joking!"

"No."

"Oh, my God! She practically killed you and she didn't even-- uh!"

"I know. But there's nothing else to do. Ethan said he'd appeal it but it won't matter. The judge is around Rebecca's manicured finger and I can't change that."

"And where's Ethan?"

"He had a convention in Minnesota to go to." The thought of Ethan, alone, without her, somewhere with Gwen, scared her and brought tears to her eyes yet again. "That reminds me, I wanted to ask you… I need to talk to Rebecca. Maybe even find Gwen. Do you know where they might be? I called the mansion and Phyllis said they haven't been there in a few days. I know they wouldn't stay at the B&B so I don't know where to look."

Luis thought a moment. "Well, Rebecca's old house maybe."

"Great, where is it?"

"It's on the outskirts of Harmony. About an hour away from here. But, as far as I know, no one's lived there for years."

Little Ethan came back from the kitchen and plopped down on the couch. "Tio Luis, are we gonna watch the game?"

"Yeah, one sec, buddy."

"Thanks, Luis. I owe you," she said, turning to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I have to find Eth-- I mean, I have to find Gwen. I'll be back soon I hope."

Theresa jumped into the car and floored it. She needed to get to Ethan.

She had completely forgotten that Rebecca's childhood home was around Harmony. How could she not think about that? Gwen was there, Theresa could feel it.

The hour-long drive isn't what drained Theresa, it was the fear of what lie ahead, at the end of the drive. She was consumed by the fear of finding her husband badly injured because of her.

Or even worse.

As she pulled up to the house, she was so frozen by her fear that she was numb, almost oblivious to everything that she was about to step into.

She had no weapon and she just realized that this 'mission' was a futile one. If Gwen was in this house, there was no telling if Theresa would come out alive.

Theresa turned off the car and walked out, around the car to the trunk. She grabbed the bat, the only thing she could find to protect herself and walked slowly to the door.

The house looked quiet and it should have been reassuring to Theresa- it wasn't. Theresa waited another minute and rang the doorbell again. Still no answer. Maybe this was useless. Maybe Gwen wasn't even here.

As Theresa turned to walk away, Theresa heard a noise from within. It sounded like glass breaking. A surge of adrenaline pounded into Theresa's heart and she knew this was it. She ran back up to the door and turned the knob. It was locked. Theresa pulled back and forth and it wouldn't move. It was then that she thanked God for having a cop for a brother. He had taught her how to pick locks with a hair pin in case she ever got locked out.

Theresa removed a bobby pin from her hair and jabbed it into the keyhole, twisting and turning until suddenly, the door clicked open.

She was in…

It was dark inside, but Theresa heard something. It sounded like a low hum, a muffled moan of some kind. What if it was Ethan? What if he was hurt? Theresa charged, focusing and straining her eyes on darkness.

"Gwen?" she called into nothingness. Her voice reverberated and echoed through the large house. "Anybody home?" she called again.

The moaning grew louder as Theresa stepped into what she thought was the front room, next to the foyer. Theresa drew her bat and held it in the air, ready to strike if Gwen did anything funny. She passed a window and Theresa could see the outline of a lamp with the light from outside. She switched it on. There was a scream and Theresa couldn't believe her eyes…

The scream was piercing and Theresa stood in utter shock at the image before her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here!" she said, standing from the floor, trying to cover her body.

Theresa didn't know what to say. "Rebecca…," Theresa whispered, noting her half-naked body and the man lying on the floor, using a pillow to cover himself.

"Uh, Theresa! What the hell are you doing in my house! How did you get in here!"

Theresa was almost frozen and seemed to find this situation rather amusing. She looked down at the embarrassed man on the floor and she was surprised further. "Senator Fields…?" The man turned a deeper shade of crimson at the mention of his name. He didn't say a word. Instead, he grabbed another pillow and held it to his backside as he stepped out of the room. "Doing politicians now, Rebecca?"

"Just shut up! You know, I should have you shot!" Theresa tried to speak but was cut off. "You barge into my house, it's dark, and you have an assault weapon. I simply killed an intruder. I can't see who you are." Theresa didn't say anything. "It's that simple, Theresa. So tell me, what the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Is Gwen here?"

"Why? Do you want to hit her with the bat?" Rebecca laughed.

"Is Ethan here?"

"Ah… Did he finally come to his senses and leave your lying ass?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

"No, she kidnapped him, Rebecca!"

It took Rebecca a moment to register what Theresa had just said. Her face first flashed with disbelief, but then she realized that Gwen was her daughter after all. Her lips pressed upwards and she shook her head pitifully at Theresa. "Ah… well, my Gwennie's finally seen the light. It's about time that she gets what she deserves. Even if she has to take it by force."

"Where is she, Rebecca?" Theresa asked forcefully.

Rebecca put her finger to her chin in ponderance. "Let me think…," she mocked trying. "I don't know."

"Rebecca!" Theresa rose the bat high above her head, ready for blood. "I'm thinking you might need another nose job if you don't tell me!"

"Davey!" Rebecca called to her lover and he came charging into the room. "Davey," Rebecca whined. "Get rid of her for me."

"Sorry, I don't hit women," he said rather cowardly.

"Uh!" she huffed. "Some good you are! Fine, I'll do it myself!" With that, Rebecca went for Theresa, and Theresa ran. They chased each other all around the sofa, across the bar, in front of the fireplace, and all over again. Theresa knocked over a lamp with the bat and Rebecca screamed.

"GET OUT, Theresa!" Rebecca yelled at her.

Theresa ran out of the house and into her car. Gwen wasn't there. Neither was Ethan. Gwen wouldn't have made it that easy for her. She would be in a place where Theresa least expected it. But where…?


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Theresa left the Hotchkiss mansion happily and was on her way to her own home. The fact that she was no step closer to her kidnapped husband worried her though.

What would Gwen do to him?

What did she want with him?

So many thoughts filtered through her mind and nothing made sense to her.

Theresa was on her way home when her cell phone buzzed up and down on the dashboard. She reached for it and accidentally dropped it into the passenger's seat. Struggling to keep her eyes on the road, Theresa felt around for the phone until she finally had it in her hand, still buzzing.

"Hello?" she answered.

-- "Hey," Luis answered.

"Oh, hey, Luis. What's up?"

-- "I just wanted to let you know that I just got called onto duty. Some disturbance up north that Sam wants me to take care of."

Suddenly, Theresa was afraid for her son being left alone. "Where's Little Ethan?"

-- "I dropped him off at your place. I called Mama. She said she'd watch him until you get home."

"Oh," she breathed a sigh of relief. "So, Mama's with him now?"

-- "Yeah. I just thought I'd call and let you know. I wouldn't want you to hyperventilate if you didn't find him at my house."

"Okay, thanks."

-- "Night, Theresa. Be careful."

"I will. Goodnight, Luis," she said hanging up with her brother.

* * *

Theresa pulled into her driveway and something didn't look right. As she got inside, she saw what it was. All the lights were off. Theresa dropped her purse by the door and flicked the switch on the wall several times. No lights. The power was out. But it wasn't raining. A fuse must have gone out. 

Or did it…?

"Mama?" Theresa called out into the darkness of her home. "Little Ethan?" No answer. The resonating silence haunted her. "Mama!" she screamed more urgently. Again no answer. Theresa began walking fervently through her house, popping her head into every room, screaming for her loved ones. "Mama! Little Ethan!" She ran around the banister and up the stairs and repeated yelling the names. "Little Ethan! Mama! Little Ethan! This is not funny!" Still no answer.

Theresa got to the guest room and her heart stopped. A shadow stood still at the end of the room near the wall. She walked to the shadow and the image before her terrified her. "Oh, my God! Mama!" Pilar lay on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Theresa ran to her mother. "Mama?" She tapped her and there was no movement. She feared the worse. Still, there was no sight of her son. "C'mon, Mama. Please wake up." Theresa shook her mother harder. "Mama, please!" She rolled her over to her front and that's when she saw it. Pilar's face was covered in blood. Her face was bloody and bruised. There were scratches and marks on her arms, and the bloody outlines showed through the white sleeves.

"Mama, can you hear me? Mama? Please…," Theresa was crying now. Pilar stirred slowly and somehow Theresa's hope was renewed. "Oh, thank God!" Pilar opened her eyes. She tried to focus on Theresa above her but her vision kept clouding. "Mama… What happened?"

Pilar was barely hanging onto consciousness. "Theresa…?"

"Yes, yes, it's me, Mama. I was so worried I lost you."

Behind Theresa, the closet door opened with a creak.

"It's hardly a miracle," a cold, hardened voice said with an icy tone. Theresa knew the voice and stared up at the owner in terror. "I could have killed her if I wanted. But I decided to reserve that for you."

Theresa swallowed hard. "Gwen…"

"That's right, Theresa. Scared?" Theresa didn't answer. "You should be."

"Ther… Theresa…?" Pilar tried.

Theresa looked down at her mother and she was now fully conscious. "Yes, Mama. I'm right here. What did you do to her?" she said, turning back up to Gwen.

"Gwen…. Gwen… she… she… threw… me… against the… wall… and…"

"Oh, please. You would think she would be thanking me. I could have done much worse," Gwen said, seeming to enjoy the scene in front of her.

"You bitch! She has done nothing to you but be kind to you."

"Done nothing! She is responsible for your existence. And that can't go unpunished."

Theresa stood. She looked down Gwen's arm and saw something silver and sharp…Gwen caught Theresa staring at the object in her hand and smiled. "Like it?"

"Where's my son?" Theresa asked hurriedly.

"Oh, Little Ethan? I wouldn't worry about him."

"WHERE IS HE!" Theresa was terrified now.

"My, my, my… Aren't we pushy?"

"He's my son! What have you done with him!"

"That doesn't matter now. All that matters is that you'll never see him again." Again, Theresa saw the same gleam in Gwen's eye. It was nothing she had ever seen in Gwen's eyes before and it scared her.

Gwen was slowly walking towards Theresa with the knife and Theresa was being backed up against the wall. She had no where to go. No where to run…

Gwen was drawing closer and Theresa's ears started to ring. She didn't know what to do. Her husband had been kidnapped by a psychopath, her son was missing, and her mother was on the floor helpless, all because of her. Gwen raised the knife and was headed for Theresa. Just by the basic human instinct of survival, Theresa ducked and flew past Gwen, barely missing the swing of the blade. Gwen reached for Theresa, pulling on her hair. At the sudden opposite lunge, Theresa fell back, onto the floor-- perfect prey for Gwen.

Gwen had dropped the knife in pursuit of Theresa. It now laid on the floor and Gwen and Theresa both stared at the gleaming blade and went for it at the same time. Gwen jumped to the floor, trying to cover it with her body, but Theresa made contact before Gwen could. Her hand skimmed the edge of the blade, sending it on a spin across the floor, slicing her palm with blood. Theresa took her opportunity to lift herself from the floor. She found the knife lying on the hardwood floor, just minor feet away from her. Before she could reach it fully and grab it, Gwen tackled her like a football player, giving her only the chance to kick it away from Gwen, far enough away to keep her alive. Theresa hadn't counted on it, but thanked her lucky stars when it hurled down the stairs and she heard it clank all the way down.

The surge of adrenaline was incomprehensibly strong now. Theresa realized that her life could very well end this night.

But it couldn't!

She had too much to live for now. She had a beautiful son that she loved more than her own life and she was finally with the love of her life after years of struggle. Then his face finally came into view.

Ethan…

_Where_ was he!

Gwen had succeeded in what she said she'd do. She would destroy Theresa's life and have her begging on her knees for mercy. Theresa was prepared to do anything if meant saving her husband and her child. But it wasn't over yet.

Gwen was furious. She had come to do a job and she could see that she was already failing.

Damn Theresa!

Pilar had lost consciousness again and Theresa made a run back to the room to get to her, get her away from Gwen's evil grasp, but Gwen caught her before she could.

Gwen grabbed Theresa with the strength of fury in her arms and pulled her away from Pilar to her feet. Gwen's hands took Theresa's throat and squeezed hard. Theresa coughed and tried to speak, but it was no use. Gwen's grip lightened as she pulled Theresa over to the top of the stairs. Their faces were close now and Theresa could see the cold hatred in Gwen's eyes that mirrored what was in her heart.

Images of the struggle that almost ended Theresa's life only months before flashed into her mind. "Gwen…," Theresa breathed. "P- please…" Gwen liked the sound of the begging and refused to heed her request. "Gwen… ah…," Theresa struggled to get out.

Gwen wanted this so much; to look into her enemy's eyes as she died. But she couldn't. The game had just begun.

Gwen spun with Theresa in her hands and threw her hard. Theresa's head made a loud contact with the wall, beginning to bleed.

Gwen was reeling in anger and she looked back to Pilar, still unconscious.

"Gwen," Theresa muttered. "I'm sorry… I… I never… never meant to hurt you or Sarah. You have to believe that."

Gwen tore around in absolute rage, not believing what she had just heard. She ran to Theresa so fast, she almost jumped on her. Her grasp on Theresa's throat was reborn and clenched down. Theresa saw stars at the sudden deprivation of oxygen. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME! DO YOU HEAR ME!" Theresa tried to utter her response, but her throat only made gurgling sounds it seemed like. "YOU DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF PAIN!" Gwen's eyes burned with hatred. "But I can teach you."

Theresa struggled to breathe as she saw her mother awake and try to crawl to her, somehow she knew that she was beyond help now.

"Gw-" she coughed. "Gwen…"

Gwen's grip tightened to the point that Theresa couldn't speak anymore.

"What was that?" Gwen asked. "You know, you're lucky I haven't killed you yet." Theresa's eyes were watering and she was becoming dizzy. Her mind was screaming for oxygen. "I just want you to know something before I do… Your husband will be mine again. He loves me. Your son, he will call me 'mommy.' You will never see them again." Theresa was bashing her head from side to side frantically, trying in vain to speak. "Goodbye, Theresa," Gwen said, smiling. She tightened her already vise-like grip on Theresa's throat and pushed her back, sending Theresa on a tumbling, deadly fall. Theresa's neck hit the base of the stair, her feet flew above her, pulling her body down, sending her down several more stairs. Her head slammed into the banister and she fell down several more stairs before she finally hit the first floor, unconscious. Her world was black.

Gwen stood at the top of the stairs, smiling when she heard the final thud. I won, she thought. Gwen listened for movement. There wasn't any. Gwen walked down to the first floor as slow as possible. She was there, lying in defeat. Theresa had landed head first, further aggravating the wound on her forehead. Her body landed on her stomach and her arm was unusually bent under her.

Gwen smiled when she saw Theresa lying there, helpless. She should find her knife and finally finish it. Rid her life of the bitch forever. But something in her mind told her she couldn't. "Not yet…" Gwen went back upstairs and grabbed Pilar. When Pilar saw her daughter lying motionless on the floor, she screamed.

"No! Theresa! Mi niñ a! No! What have you done!" Gwen said nothing and pushed Pilar out of the house. She went back to the woman lying on the floor. She evaluated the situation and smiled. She was doing it.

"It's almost over, Theresa. Your suffering will be over soon. And then, I will have everything I've ever wanted." Gwen stared at her for another moment and finally reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. She stared at the words and threw it down as she walked out of the dark house and the paper floated down to the floor next to Theresa…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Stupid people," Luis sighed to himself as he drove back into Harmony. Leave it to a little town like this to have thousands of love triangles. For the third time this week the same woman had called the station because her boyfriend and her husband were ready to kill each other.

Thank God he was back in the quiet town of Harmony, where almost nothing ever happened.

Almost…

Luis thought back to Theresa as he reached a stop light and couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She was shaken up when she first called him, she wanted to get out of the house and seemed almost paranoid about her son. Ethan wasn't home and Theresa claimed she needed to find Gwen. Something didn't add up… With that thought, Luis turned in the direction of Theresa's house.

* * *

She finally arrived at her destination with her captives. Little Ethan wasn't bound but he was too terrified to speak. Pilar was bound and gagged, so mortified from her daughter's image, she couldn't move. Even though Gwen was horrible to Pilar, she acted rather sweet towards Little Ethan.

When they got inside Gwen's choice of secrecy, she led them down a dark hallway and into a room. The room was too dark to see anything and Little Ethan grabbed onto his grandmother in fear. Gwen switched on the light and a feeling of comfort and panic washed over Pilar.

He was lying on the cot that might as well have been a wooden board when the light switched on. His eyes blurred at the sensation as he lifted himself up to a sitting position.

"Oh, my, God," Ethan breathed as his son ran towards him.

"Daddy!" Little Ethan screamed.

They were blocked by the bars but Ethan did his best to wrap his arms around his son. Gwen walked a bound Pilar to the door of the cage and shoved her inside, pushing her to the floor. Ethan ran to Pilar and helped her up.

"Pilar!" he cried when he saw her bloodied face. He tried to hold her up steady, but she was still dizzy. Gwen looked on in disgust when Ethan acted to attentively to Pilar. "Where's Theresa?" he demanded to know.

Gwen turned back to him. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about her anymore," she said with a smile. Gwen took Little Ethan's hand, pulling his away from Ethan, and led him to the door. Then she turned off the light and left Pilar and Ethan in darkness…

* * *

When Luis approached the house, he found that the front door was slightly ajar. Drawing basic police instinct, Luis' hand went to his holster and he drew his flashlight, shining it into the darkness of the house.

"Theresa?" he called into the house as he walked in. His flashlight illuminated the room and the light caught something on the floor. It was Theresa. "Oh, my, God!" He ran to her quickly. As fast as he could, he picked her up and raced to the hospital.

* * *

The room was cold and Ethan had given Pilar his blanket. They sat on the cot, Ethan doing his best to nurse Pilar's wounds.

"What happened?" Ethan asked as he used a napkin to clean the cut on Pilar's head.

Pilar took a moment as the events replayed in her head. "Luis called me," she began. "He said that Theresa had left Little Ethan with him but he had gotten called into duty. So he asked me if I could watch my grandson…" she paused, trying to get the room to stop spinning. Ethan watched her cautiously and told her to take her time even though his mind was screaming to know what happened. "So, I went to your house and waited for Luis to drop off Little Ethan." She paused and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "After I put Little Ethan to bed, I went downstairs to the living room. As I walked down the stairs, I noticed the lights were off. I tried the switch, but it didn't work. I just figured that the fuse had gone out. I didn't know where you keep the extra ones, so I started to go back upstairs. Then the lamp from the living room turned on. That's when I saw her. She was sitting on the couch, swinging a knife. Gwen asked me where Theresa was and I told her I didn't know. She didn't believe me and she came at me. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't see. I ran upstairs and tried to protect Little Ethan. She cut my arms and attacked me when she tried to get him from me. She threw me and pushed my head into the wall." Pilar stopped, trying to fight her emotion. "I don't know what happened next. The next thing I can remember is that Theresa was there. That's when Gwen showed up again. She came out of Little Ethan's closet and flew at Theresa. They struggled and I tried to get to Theresa, but I couldn't. I could hear her screaming in the hallway. They went from room to room, fighting. The next thing I knew, Gwen was dragging me downstairs and I saw her there. Gwen's knife was lying on the floor by the stairs and Theresa was lying there, not moving. I tried to call to her…, I tried to touch her, I tried--" She began crying and Ethan tried his best to comfort her. That's when he finally asked:

"Where _is _Theresa?" Ethan said in a whisper. Pilar stared at him and did her best not to show it. But she couldn't hide it anymore. Her tears fell and she leaned into him, muffling her cries. Ethan swallowed hard and he knew…

* * *

The deafening beeps of the machines around him reminded Luis that this was very real. It was happening all over again.

He held her hand and prayed to God that he'd bring her out of this. "I'm here, Theresa."

The curtain opened with a swipe as a nurse entered. Luis watched her check Theresa's chart and her IV. "How is she?" Luis asked.

"Well, I guess she'll be okay. Poor thing. She's in for heartache when she wakes up. I couldn't even imagine..."

"I know. She's gonna be devastated."

"I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could say."

"It's okay. Thank you."

The nurse excused herself and left the room.

"Luis?" a groggy voice asked.

Luis looked up and saw that his sister had awoken. "Theresa, thank God."

Theresa found that her arm was bound in a cast, her throat was bruised, her head was bandaged and pounding, and she was lying in a hospital bed for the second time in four months. "What… What happened?" Theresa stared at Luis and then it all flooded back to her. A hazy image of Gwen choking her and pushing her down the stairs came into view.

"Theresa, who did this to you?"

The memories fought their way in and made Theresa's eyes water. "Where's Mama?" Theresa wanted to know. "Where's Little Ethan? Where's my son?"

"I don't know. You were the only one there."

"She took him… She took my son!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Theresa, who took him? Who took your son?"

"Gwen! She took my son. She took Mama. She took Ethan. And she almost killed me! She's taken _everything_ from me! Everything! I have nothing left!" Tears fell down her cheeks as she cried. Luis held her hand and looked down, trying to push the lump out of his throat and Theresa noticed his hesitation. "Luis? What is it?" Luis looked up to his sister with sad eyes. "What happened?"

Luis swallowed hard and tried to find the words. "Uh… I don't know how to tell you this, but-"

"Tell me what?"

"I'm so sorry, Theresa."

"Luis, you're scaring me."

"W-when Gwen pushed you down the stairs… um- I… Theresa. Jesus…," he sighed hard. "You- you were five weeks pregnant, Theresa." Theresa's eyes surged open and she sat in shock. "But… and the fall- the fall…" He tried his best to get the words out, but he couldn't. "I'm so sorry." Luis didn't need to say anymore. Theresa knew exactly what he was saying.

Her breath was becoming short and she began crying. "No… It can't… No!" she screamed into Luis' arms. "She has taken everything!" Theresa was hysterical. It was a hard thing to lose a child, but she had lost a lot more than that. She had lost two children, her husband, and her mother. And all to her mortal enemy. Theresa knew one thing though. This was all far from over…

"Theresa, what happened?" Luis asked her.

After Theresa recounted the violent night to her brother, Luis pulled something out of his pocket. "Theresa, I found this next to you at your house. Do you know what it means?"

She stared at the words and was so frustrated with her inability to interpret, she began to cry. "I don't know! She's playing games now. And I have no idea what it means!"

"Shh, shh, Theresa. Don't worry. Okay? Right now, you just need to rest."

"No! I need my son! I need Ethan! I need my mother! I can't-"

"No, you need to, Theresa. Don't worry about it right now. We'll talk about it later." Luis squeezed her hand in reassurance. He left the room to get some coffee and Theresa stared at the haunting words…

The next day, Luis took Theresa back home. The sight of her empty house made her choke up. Things were still strewn about all over the floor and the lights still didn't work. Luis walked Theresa over to the couch and helped her sit down.

"How you feeling?" he asked.

"I'll live."

Luis held her close and rubbed circles on her back. "Yeah."

"Hey, Luis?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"I wanna see the note she left," Theresa said, outstretching her hand.

"Theresa, are you sure? I don't want you to get worked up again."

"I want to see it."

Luis hesitated. "Okay," he said, pulling the piece of paper from his pocket. "Here." Theresa took the paper and studied it, down to every last crinkle. "Have any idea what it could mean?"

Theresa shook her head. "No." She stared at the words and read them aloud.

"MADE OF WOOD AND SPURNED OF SHINE

MANY NIGHTS WHERE HE WAS MINE

STOLEN SONG AND COLDENED RAIN

TRUSTING AND DECEIVING RESULTS IN PAIN."

Theresa and Luis both sat back in silence, contemplating what Gwen could have meant by those words. "She's playing games with me. She wants me figure it out."

"Figure out what?"

Theresa was silent and she had no idea that the answer was literally in her hands. "Figure it out… figure it out… figure what out…? Damn it! Theresa, think!" she yelled at herself. "Wait a minute! That's it! I got it!"

"What? What's it?" Luis asked excitedly.

"It's a riddle…"

"A riddle? What does it mean?"

"I don't know yet. But… but, if I just think about it, I might be able to get it."

"Okay, so let's take this one step at a time. The first sentence… 'MADE OF WOOD' do you have any idea what that means?"

"No. The only thing I can think of is Sarah's coffin-the grudge that she has against me. That's probably what she means. 'SPURNED OF SHINE…' Spurned of shine?" she repeated. "Shine? Shine…? The sun?"

"It could be. But what does the sun have anything to do with Sarah?"

"Maybe saying that Sarah is up in heaven rather down here with her mother, where she wants her to be?

"It's possible."

"'MANY NIGHTS WHERE HE WAS MINE…' He? Who was hers?"

"Would it be Ethan?" Luis asked.

"Maybe. But, I don't understand what he would have to do with this thing made of wood. She doesn't blame Ethan half as much as she does me for Sarah's death. In fact I don't think she does blame him. She sees me as the only one at fault. And what would nights have to do with Ethan…?"

"Well, read the next line. Maybe it'll make sense," Luis encouraged.

"'STOLEN SONG AND COLDENED RAIN?' Stolen song? I never stole a song from her, let alone any kind of music. She already referred to Ethan so I don't know what else I stole from her." She sat, pondering this. "What if… song. Songs…? Songs are usually referred to as feminine. Could she be referring to Sirens?"

"Sirens? The Greek myth?"

"Yeah. Sirens sang. They sang songs to lure men into their confines to kill them. So, what if 'SONG' is being associated with the Sirens-- girls. Girl, her daughter, Sarah. Maybe she's talking about her daughter. Saying that I stole Sarah from her."

"It's possible, but it sounds like reaching to me."

"I know, I know. But I have no idea what a stolen song could be. And 'COLDNENED RAIN?' Coldened rain is what? Ice? What does ice have to do with anything? I can't…. I don't remember anything about ice or rain that has to do with anything that's happened between us in the past."

"No, neither can I."

"Well, it's obvious that there was something. She wouldn't have put it in there if she didn't want me to know about it."

"What about…? What about the time that you almost drowned when you fell off the prom boat? Could she be referring to you almost drowning in the ocean?"

"I don't know. Again, what does that have to do with a stolen song? Or Sarah?"

"I don't know. But what if she means that if you did drown that night instead of Ethan saving you, Sarah would still be alive…?"

Theresa thought a moment and wondered if Luis was right. It seemed very possible. It might have been reaching but it was the best that she had at this moment. She couldn't think of any other reason why Gwen would associate Sarah with rain or ice. If that was what she meant by those things…

"And the last line, 'TRUSTING AND DECEIVING RESULTS IN PAIN' is kind of obvious. It's her warning to me. She used to trust me and I deceived her and it will result in pain." Theresa sighed a breath of confusion. "I just don't understand what she wants me to know. So far all we have is something made of wood- Sarah's coffin, the sun- Sarah, Ethan, ice- me drowning, and revenge on me. I don't see how any of that means anything. It doesn't make sense. Why would she leave me this when it points me no closer to her?"

"Maybe she just did it to taunt you. Why would she want you to find her?"

"That's why she didn't kill me last night. She wants to see me suffer more. And this- this note, it's telling me something, but I'm missing it. I don't understand. It has to be something simple. Something that I would understand immediately, but I can't. It's staring me in the face. I know it. I just have to think. Something wood, with the sun, about Ethan, about Sarah, with ice, and for revenge… I'm missing- I'm missing something!" Theresa stood in anger and paced her living room, pressing her head to think.

"Uh, Theresa? Look on the back," Luis said with a warning laced in his voice.

Theresa turned it over and read. The words horrified her. "Oh, God!"

She ran her eyes over the words again and again.

There was no mistaking it.

Gwen's message was clear…

The seven little words held so much meaning and Theresa was terrified. She swallowed hard and knew exactly to whom Gwen was referring…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Gwen!" Ethan screamed as he pounded the thick bars in his hands. The rattling of the cage gave an eerie feeling. It really felt as if he were a caged animal unable to get out. But who was he kidding? He was exactly that. "Gwen!" he yelled again.

"She won't come," Pilar said grimly. She pulled the blanket around her shoulders tighter as she spoke. She had been in this cage for a day- maybe longer, but the darkness and cold around her were starting to eat away at her soul. She had lost her daughter and the thought of what Gwen was going to do to her next haunted her every move.

"Gwen!" There was no answer to his call and there was no indication that Gwen was running to him either. Ethan yelled and yelled for her and Gwen didn't come. "Where the hell is she?" he asked no one.

Pilar was looking into the black nothingness of the room when Ethan pounded against the bars of the cage again. The next sound was unfamiliar and scary. The white light sprung into the bars and they shook with fury as Ethan's hands stung, the heat searing into his palms. Against the magnetic pull of the electricity, Ethan ripped his hands away from the black cage and fell to the floor with the force. The door to the room crashed open with a bang.

She stood in the doorway with a determined and yet blank look on her face. The black remote was held high in her hand, her thumb pressed down on the red button. "You rang, darling?" Gwen smirked.

Ethan sprung from the floor in an instant. "Where's my son!"

Gwen's lips formed a smile as she walked towards him. "You mean our son, don't you? He's our son…"

"No, I mean mine and Theresa's son."

"Theresa doesn't have a son. We do." Ethan was disgusted at her words. He pulled away when Gwen reached out through the bars and grazed her hand along his jaw. "Tell me you love me."

Ethan's answer was laced with anger and hate. "No."

"Tell me," her answer more urgent.

"No," he said again.

Gwen rattled the bars hard. "Tell me!" she yelled.

Ethan took a deep breath and took a moment to answer. "I love…"

Gwen smiled. "Yes…"

"I love…" He paused as a betrayal crossed his heart. "Theresa."

Gwen's eyes bulged in rage. "All right. Fine. You just stay in there until you realize the truth!" She stomped out of the room as Ethan yelled after her.

"Where's my son! I want to see my son!" The door slammed shut and the room went dark again. Ethan was furious. Gwen was completely crazy. She believed that Little Ethan was her son. And he was in a cage! Theresa's life was in danger-- maybe it was too late… "I have to get out of here," he said to Pilar. "I can't stay in here and let Gwen hurt Theresa."

"How? The cage is locked, there are no windows, and the door needs a key. We're trapped."

Ethan's head was pounding. "I don't know. I need a plan. Maybe, somehow I could get Gwen to open the cage."

"But she never opens the cage."

Ethan sat on the cot, his head racing in ponderance. Minutes went by and he could almost hear the ticking of a clock, even though there wasn't one in the room.

The silence surrounded him and the blackness of the room enveloped his concentration. Ethan focused on space and he replayed everything that Gwen had just said to him. The words, like a tape recorder, echoed in his mind. That's when he found what he was looking for.

"That's it!" Ethan exclaimed.

"What? Did you find a way to escape?"

"No, I know a way that Gwen would let me out. Then I could call the police and get us out of here."

"How?" Pilar asked urgently.

"Gwen said that I would have to stay in here until I realized the truth…," he trailed off, his mind abuzz.

"I don't understand."

"The truth about loving her and not loving Theresa. If-- if I tell her that I love her… maybe she'd let me out of here long enough for me to get to a phone or maybe find out where the hell we are."

"What if she doesn't?"

"I have to try. I can't take just sitting around waiting," he said angrily.

"Could you really do that to Theresa?"

Ethan was startled by her question and paused. "Pilar, I love Theresa. I love her more than you'll ever know. But-- but Theresa… I don't know where she is… I don't know… if she's still alive. I have to get to her, somehow. I have to try. I have to try to get out of here, at least for my son's sake. I can't just sit here for eternity, rotting." He paused again. "Even if it means lying to my heart."

Pilar said nothing and the thought of her daughter made her numb. She nodded then, giving her assurance. Ethan began yelling for Gwen again. He was cautious of the bars and he paced around the cage screaming. "Gwen!" There was no answer to his call. "Gwen! I need to talk to you!" He yelled her name for five minutes before she came. The door opened and she appeared.

"Yes, my love?"

Ethan immediately put on his act. "There you are, honey. I was getting worried."

Gwen smiled suspiciously. "Really…? And why's that?" she asked walking towards him. "Did you want to see your son again?"

"You mean our son, don't you?"

Gwen hesitated before she answered, studying him carefully. "Yes… our son."

"What do you say you let me out of here…?

"I don't know..."

"Please," he pouted. "I can't stand being away from you."

Gwen was beginning to believe him. "All right." She opened the cage door slowly and let Ethan out, locking the door quickly to prevent Pilar from going anywhere. "But how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Let me prove it to you." Ethan went forward and kissed her. Pilar thought she would gag as she watched.

It was definitely something that Ethan hadn't expected to do but it was working. He could tell from prior knowledge that Gwen was beginning to really buy his story.

Ethan pulled back, trying to imagine what Theresa would look like standing before him, but he was disappointed and heartbroken to find Gwen in her place.

"I'll see what I can do," Gwen said with a mischievous smile.

Gwen led Ethan out of the room that he and Pilar were being held captive in. For the first time, he saw where it was that he was being held. As he walked down the dark hallway with Gwen turning back to him every other second, he couldn't help but feel that he knew the place.

_Could it be… ?_

_It couldn't possibly… _

Could it?

The hallway of the building that he was walking through smelled odd, as if it hadn't been used for years. Suddenly, Gwen stopped in front of a door on the left and stared at Ethan.

"Are you ready, my love?"

Ethan didn't know what she was talking about. Ready for what?

"Always," he said smoothly.

Gwen cracked open the door and a sliver of light rayed through, accentuating the floor under Ethan's bare feet.

Gwen let Ethan in first, watching him intently. Ethan was flooded with a familiar feeling when he saw the furniture. And when he walked inside, and studied the room, he knew where he was.

_No! _

How could she have brought me here!

Everything in the room was the same. All the furniture was and looked the same; it hadn't been touched in years.

The bed had the same comforter on it that it had the last time he saw it.

_The last time …_

Ethan's mind swirled with memories of his times in this room, some good and some not.

He remembered being in that bed many times, some with Gwen, most with Gwen, and some with Theresa.

The memories of Theresa, touching him, kissing him, loving him, ran much needed warmth through his body. He could almost feel her body with the thought of her in that bed with him. He stared out the window and saw the beautiful scenery before him. How was it that he was surrounded by such beauty and felt empty within?

Gwen turned his gaze back to her. "Many happy times here." He smiled, not exactly thinking of the same memories that she was. "Tell me you love me…," she whispered, bringing his face to hers.

He swallowed hard, trying to hide any doubt. "I do," he lied. Gwen smiled before she kissed him. He didn't respond to her lips at first and forced himself to kiss back. Gwen pulled him back towards the bed, trying not to stumble. When they fell atop the soft bed, Ethan realized just why she had brought him to this room.

Gwen pulled back and breathed in his ear. "Make love to me, Ethan," she sighed.

Ethan froze. Suddenly, Pilar's words echoed in his head.

_Could you really do that to Theresa? _

He felt Gwen's lips on his as Pilar's statement continued to play.

_Could you really do that to Theresa …? _

Could you …?

He suddenly pushed from her mouth, tearing himself away from the kiss. Even if he could lie, even if he could say 'I love you' to someone he did not, he could never betray Theresa. She was in his heart always. She was in his soul. Theresa was always a part of him and would always be. What they shared together wasn't something tangible. It wasn't something to be seen. But it was there. It couldn't be boxed and burned like Gwen wanted him to do. He swore on their wedding day, vowed to forever love Theresa. He vowed his loyalty, his love, his faithfulness.

His faithfulness…

Even if he did want to save himself, save Pilar, save his son, he couldn't do this. He didn't know if Theresa was still alive, but all he knew was that they had a part of each other that was only shared between them, between their love. That was something that no one could take from them. No one…

"Gwen- Gwen, we can't," he said apologetically.

"Of course we can," she said to him firmly. "We're married."

"Yes," he said falsely. "But, we shouldn't rush. Let's just go a little slower."

"I don't want to go slow," she said through her teeth and he knew that her anger was mounting.

"Gwen, it's been so long. We shouldn't make a mistake."

"A mistake? We love each other." She paused, staring at him. "Make love to me," she said, almost commandingly.

"Gwen… I- I can't."

She didn't say anything at first and Ethan was starting to get worried. "You still love her." A statement. He didn't answer and prayed that his eyes didn't reveal the truth. "Answer me!" she screamed. It was odd how scared Ethan was beginning to feel in her presence. Gwen quickly slid her hand under a pillow and pulled out an oiled black revolver. "ANSWER ME!" The gun was pointed at his chest and he couldn't believe what she was doing.

"Gwen, no. Of course not." The will and fight to live was strong now. It finally became clear to Ethan just how dangerous the situation was. "I love _you_, Gwen." But his fearful eyes gave away the truth. Gwen was extremely angry now. She pointed the gun higher now, level with his forehead.

"Don't lie to me!" she yelled, clicking the hammer back and Ethan could see a bullet born in the chamber. "DON'T LIE TO ME, GOD DAMN IT!" The gun was shaking in her furious hand and he could see a raging fire in her eyes, a terrifying one.

"Gwen, I-"

"ANSWER ME! YOU STILL LOVE HER!" The gun was shaking closer to Ethan now and he tried to move backward to the farthest extent to get out of its reach. Ethan felt like he was trapped. And in truth, he was. He was stuck between a gun and the truth. If he told it, the gun would go off. If he didn't, the gun would go off. What was he supposed to do?

"Gwen, I-I… She's my wife…," he managed to get out.

"No! Answer me!" she shouted again.

He realized that there was no way out and he was going to have to tell the truth. He began nodding slowly, giving his answer without speaking. "Yes…"

"Yes," Gwen said with him. "Yes. And what? You thought by lying to me that I'd leave her alone!"

"No, Gwen--"

"No! That whore has taken everything from me! And there is no way that you can make that go away!" Gwen got off the bed and paced. Fury was fueling her mind and she couldn't think straight anymore. She turned back to Ethan. "Get up," she commanded, pointing the gun at him. Ethan obeyed her and stood before her, waiting for her next move. Gwen pushed him out of the room with the tip of the pistol against his back. "Keep walking," she hissed when he stopped to speak. She pushed him down the same hallway that they'd been down only minutes before and back to confinement.

Pilar was terrified when she saw Ethan being led back into the cage by a gun. Something had gone wrong.

"Get in!" Gwen yelled at Ethan as she pushed him into the cage. The cage door slammed with a bang and Gwen thrashed the key around in the lock to make sure they couldn't get out. Just as she was about to walk away from the cage, Gwen's cell phone rang on her hip. She walked to the corner of the room to talk and Pilar asked Ethan what happened.

"She figured it out. I'm sorry, Pilar. I'll get us out of here."

"It's okay, Ethan. I'm just glad you're all right. We have to have faith. We have to ask God for His help." Ethan nodded. He opened his mouth to speak when he heard Gwen's voice walking back towards the cage.

"Well, my confidant in Harmony just called me. I'm sure you two would be happy to know that Theresa was just released from the hospital. Unfortunately, the push I gave her down the stairs didn't send her home in a body bag."

"Oh my, God! Theresa! She's alive!" Pilar cried.

"Theresa…," Ethan whispered happily, tears forming. "She's alive! She's really alive!" Pilar and Ethan hugged in their excitement and let their tears of joy fall.

"Hey!" Gwen called their attention back to her. "There's more. It turns out that when she got to the hospital, they discovered that she was pregnant."

"Pregnant…?" Ethan said softly. "Theresa's pregnant…"

"Oh my, God! Mi niñ a! She's going to have a baby." Pilar and Ethan were so happy, they couldn't believe it was happening.

"Sorry to get your hopes up, but um… I said that Theresa _was _pregnant."

Pilar and Ethan both froze. "What do you mean?"

"It seems that the fall caused her to miscarry," she said smiling.

"No…," Ethan said, tears falling. "No, she-- she lost the baby… Our baby…"

"Yeah." Gwen seemed delighted with the heartbreaking news.

"How could you!" Ethan cried.

"How? How! Ethan, she killed my baby!"

"No, she didn't! That happened because of a fight that you got into when you were in jail for almost killing Theresa!"

"No! She killed Sarah! Our Sarah! It was all her fault! She stole my baby, she stole you, and she stole my life! And now, karma finally got her. She killed my baby and nature killed hers."

"No, you did-"

"The bible says, 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' A baby… for a baby."

Ethan couldn't believe what she was saying. She was claiming that karma killed Theresa's baby because Gwen lost hers when Gwen was to blame for both deaths! "You monster!"

"Theresa's the monster! She is to blame for _everything_! And she's paying for it… She's gonna pay for it all…" Gwen smiled at him then and Ethan was shocked at his sudden urge to strangle her; end all the evil that was surrounding him once and for all…


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

"Oh, my, God…," she trailed off. The words etched in black ink stared at her, they taunted her, they mocked her.

"Theresa, what? What does it say?" Luis asked urgently.

Theresa stared at the words that seemed to smile evilly at her. She ran her eyes over the words again and again and she knew that they were real. Theresa swallowed hard, a numbing shock overtaking her body.

"What does it say?" Luis asked again. Theresa paused once more, trying to get the words out, but her fear stopped her. "Theresa," Luis said wanting to know.

She stuttered first and finally she heard herself say the words. The paper trembled as she read from it. " 'A LITTLE JUSTICE… WITH A LITTLE PERSON.' "

Luis understood what it meant instantly. "Would she-"

Theresa looked up at him quickly. "Yes," she cut him off. "Little Ethan…"

Theresa was rambling, hysterical.

"Theresa, you need to calm down," Luis tried.

"Luis, how can I calm down! My mortal enemy stole my child, my husband, and my mother. And now she is threatening my son! I can't- I can't calm down!"

"Theresa-"

"No," she said pacing the floor. "I'm going to find her. I'm going to find Gwen and when I do… I'm gonna kill her. I swear to God that I'll kill her!"

"Listen to me, Theresa!" Luis said, stopping her hypnotic pacing. "You need to stop, okay. There are other ways to handle this." Luis looked at her for a reassurance and he saw nothing but a blank stare. That's when she finally let go.

She had been so brave the past few hours, she had cried but in the end she had pulled herself together. She couldn't do it anymore. She finally broke down.

Theresa stood there and Luis saw her crumble. The tears fell and he could see how weak she was becoming.

"Theresa…," Luis began quietly. "Look, you _need_ to calm down. Okay?"

"Luis, how am I supposed to calm down? Gwen, that psycho is going to-- she's going to--"

"We don't know that."

"Luis, I can't. I can't do this anymore. I just-- I can't," she cried again.

"Theresa, listen to me, okay? This- this isn't going to get them back. All right? We need to be smart. And you need to trust me." Theresa looked back up at her brother with sad eyes. "We'll get 'em back. I promise."

She didn't know if she could believe him or not but she knew she had to try. For her mother's sake. For her husband's sake. For her son's sake.

"Okay, this is what I'm going to do," Luis began. "I'm gonna go to the station, ask some questions, do a little digging. Will you be okay?"

Theresa forced a smile. "Yeah…," she whispered, her voice laced with pain. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," Luis said kissing her forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" She nodded at him and let her eyes fall to the floor.

Luis left Theresa and walked to his car. He felt guilty leaving her like this but the only way he knew how to help her was to go to the station. As he folded himself into the driver seat of his car, he called the police station, his phone pressed to his shoulder.

-- "Harmony Police Department," a somber voice answered.

"Sarah, it's Lopez-Fitzgerald. Give me Cortez."

-- "Sure. I'll put you right through."

"Thanks." Luis waited for a minute as he was put through to his friend.

-- "Cortez here," a husky, playful voice answered.

"Marky Mark, it's Luis."

-- "Hey, Luis. What's going on?"

"Listen, I need some help."

-- "Sure."

"Okay, I need some information on someone. I was hoping you'd be able to help me out."

Mark scooted himself close to his computer and had his fingers ready to type. --"Shoot."

"See if you can find anything on a Gwen Hotchkiss or a Gwen Winthrop."

-- "Am I looking for an identity or background check?"

"Neither. This is kinda personal. I need to know of any places that she goes to a lot. Homes, friends, things like that. Just draw me up a list, okay?"

Mark was silent for a minute. His computer screen flashed white for a minute and then he got a page full of information. -- "Gotcha. Okay, I have here a ton of newspaper articles about…. her.. her mother… a guy named Ethan Winthrop. Hey, isn't that your brother-in-law?"

"Yeah," Luis admitted. "Listen, just try to find any offenses that she might have. You know, anything. Find out where she might stay. Hotels, summer homes, the works."

-- "You got it, Luis."

"Thanks, buddy. I'll be there in a little bit."

-- "Where you going?"

"I'm gonna check something out and I'll meet you at the station in about an hour. Make sure you have all the info for me by then."

-- "10-4"

Luis hung up with Mark and continued driving to his destination. Within a few short minutes he had reached Winthrop & Ryan, Ethan's practice.

The receptionist at the front wasn't particularly welcoming. But who would be when someone she didn't know just barged in and wanted to go into her boss' office when he wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't let you in." Michelle tried to explain politely without losing her patience.

"Listen," Luis said. "I'm Harmony PD. I need to see Mr. Winthrop's office and I need to speak with his partner. Now."

"I'm sorry. Mr. Winthrop is in Minnesota right now attending a conference and Mr. Ryan is out to lunch."

"Look, this is important. I'm going in there and there's nothing you can do to stop it," Luis declared.

Michelle stood from her chair behind the desk. "Unless you have a warrant, I highly doubt it."

Luis smirked and gave her a vicious look. He needed to get into Ethan's office to see if there was anything that would point him closer finding Gwen. And there was nothing that was going to stop him.

Luis began to walk past Michelle when she wasn't looking, but her eye quickly caught movement.

"Sir! If you try that again, I'm going to have to call security!"

"Well, go ahead then! Most of those guys report to me anyway. It won't matter."

Just as Michelle and Luis began arguing, Matt walked through the glass doors of the lobby at the sight.

"Um… hello. What's going on?" Matt asked patiently.

"Mr. Ryan, this man insists on going into Mr. Winthrop's office. I can't get him to go away. Shall I call security?"

Luis looked over to Matt and showed his badge. "Listen, I'm Lieutenant Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald of the Harmony Police Department. And I'm-"

"Lopez-Fitzgerald? Are you related to Theresa?"

"Yeah, she's my sister."

"Oh. Well, um, what can I do for you?" Matt asked.

"I'd like to talk to you in private if you don't mind."

Matt nodded and led Luis through the hallway into his office. "So, Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, what's going on? Did I do something? You gonna arrest me?"

"No, I'm here because of Ethan."

"He's not here. He went to a conference-"

"In Minnesota. I know."

"So then, why are you here?"

Luis hesitated before he spoke. "Ethan's missing."

"What do you mean he's missing? Missing from where?"

"I mean that his ex-wife kidnapped him and his holding him, my nephew, and my mother hostage somewhere."

"What! Gwen?"

"Yeah. Ethan never made it to Minnesota. Little Ethan and my mother were kidnapped last night."

"Oh, my, God! I don't… Wait a minute. Surely, you don't think I had anything to do with this?"

"No. I just needed to know if anyone has called here asking for Ethan in the past 48 hours? Anyone suspicious whatsoever?"

"N-" then Matt stopped midword. He reflected back on the one phone call that had sounded rather strange to him.

"Yello?"

-- "Hello? Is this Winthrop and Ryan?" A woman's voice asked.

"Yes it is. This is Matt Ryan. How may I help you?"

-- "Is Mr. Winthrop in, please?"

"No, I'm sorry he's not. He won't be in the office until Monday. He's leaving for a conference in Minnesota this afternoon. Can I take a message?"

-- "Minnesota, you say?"

"Yes, ma'am. Is he expecting your call?"

-- "What part of Minnesota?"

"I believe he said St. Paul." There was silence. "Ma'am, I am Mr. Winthrop's partner and I would be happy to help you if you need."

No one answered.

"Hello?"

"Actually, come to think of it, there was one call that was a little creepy."

"Who was it?" Luis asked, a pad and pencil ready in his hand.

"I'm not sure. It was a woman though." The affirmation of it being a woman almost confirmed any doubts in Luis' mind.

"What did she want?"

"She wanted to speak to Ethan."

"When did she call?"

"The day he left. I tried to ask her if there was something I could do for her instead and the line went dead."

"Did you tell her anything?"

"Like what?"

"Anything. What did you tell her?"

"I told her that he was leaving for Minnesota and he'd be back on Monday. Why?" Luis didn't answer. "She did sound familiar though."

Luis suddenly looked up from his pad and stopped writing. "Familiar?"

"Yeah. I just couldn't place it."

Luis nodded and flapped his pad closed with a flick of his wrist. "Thank you."

Matt was a little confused and still a little perplexed about his partner being kidnapped- and by a woman no less. "Sure."

Luis was about to walk out the door when he turned to Matt again. "Listen, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything to find my partner…"

Luis whispered something in Matt's ear and walked out. He was sure to say goodbye to the pleasant receptionist on his way out.

Luis wasn't quite sure what had driven him to go to Winthrop & Ryan but he had gotten a piece of useful information out of it. He knew that it was Gwen that called that day and obviously had planned Ethan's kidnapping rather quickly. It was one thing to be up against a psycho. It was completely another to be up against a smart psycho.

Luis walked through the door of the station quickly and yelled for Mark.

"Mark!"

Mark came wheeling around the corner in his office chair. "Yep!"

"Hey. Anything?"

"Want a brief?"

"Sure."

"Okay," he said flipping open a file folder of Gwen. "Let's see here. Gwen Hotchkiss-Winthrop: Born in 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts to Rebecca and John Hotchkiss. She lived in Boston until she was five and later moved with her divorced mother back to Harmony, Rebecca's hometown. She attended a private high school in Boston and stayed in the states until she was fifteen. She was shipped off to boarding school in England where she was acclaimed Homecoming Queen for three years in a row and also was given the honor of 'Best Socialite.' By then, she had been dating Ethan Crane (now Ethan Winthrop) for two years. After high school, she attended a privately funded university in London and was a member of her sorority and also became head of the sorority within two years. After she graduated, she returned to Harmony where she later got engaged to the then Ethan Crane. They broke up a year later and she had been connected to a number of brawls with your sister for a while afterward. In 2002 she became pregnant and eventually married Ethan. Gwen later attacked your sister on Los Angeles and put her in a coma. After Gwen was charged and put in jail, she lost her daughter in a fight with an inmate. And that's pretty much where we stand."

"What else?"

"Her father now lives in Boston where he has two homes and a wife and mistress. Rumored anyway."

"Okay… What about summer homes?"

"Nada. The only one that came up was Rebecca Hotchkiss-Crane's family mansion just outside of Harmony. But from what I got, no one ever goes there."

Luis breathed a sigh of frustration. "Damn it! Is that all?"

"I'm afraid so, my friend."

Luis stared off into space for a moment and then turned back to Mark. "Okay, do me a favor. Keep looking for stuff on Gwen. Anything. If her name is in a newspaper article, I wanna know why. Got it?"

"You're the boss."

"Thanks. I'll check back in with you later."

"Where are you off to now?"

"I'm gonna go check on Theresa. Keep me posted," Luis said as he walked out of the station.

"Yep. Ahh… I guess it's back to work for ol' Marky Mark. Great…"

* * *

The day had gone by fast against Theresa's expectations. Maybe it was her hope that it would that helped. The thought of her child, her husband, and her mother gone and not knowing where they could be or what could happen to them was killing her. Luis was nice enough to stay the night with her. Poor guy. She had him running all over looking for anything that might help locate the missing. He was exhausted. She could hear him snoring in the bedroom next to her but she couldn't sleep.

When she turned onto the pillow next to her, the one that she never slept on, she smelled Ethan's cologne. Not just his cologne, but his smell. She could almost feel him close now. The vision of him lying there with her, holding her in his arms almost felt real but it was all in her head. It brought tears to her eyes when she finally grasped the fact that she was alone yet again.

The night was going to be long now, she could feel it. Nothing really helped her sleep when she was having insomnia fits. The only thing that got her to relax was chamomile tea. With that thought, Theresa got out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen.

She placed the kettle on the stove and sat at the table, her head bowed trying to close out thoughts that had been plaguing her mind. When she looked up she noticed something on the table that wasn't usually there.

It was a candle.

Pilar had brought it over when she came to watch Little Ethan. It was amazing. Martin had been missing for so many years and still Pilar had hope that one day he'd return to his family.

There was a book of matches next to the colored wax and Theresa ripped one to light the candle. She held the flame to the wick and watched the flame pass from the match. She blew out the match and watched the string of smoke dissipate.

Theresa sat down at the table and stared into the candle, asking for some sort of peace of mind. Of course her thoughts turned to her missing family and she thought of the unresolved note that Gwen had left for her to decode. It was in her robe pocket and she took it out to study it once again.

The words were the same and no more clarity was with her than that afternoon. The riddle continued to haunt her and she pressed her mind for answers.

She held it up and tried to focus. The light of the candle showed through the white paper and that's when she saw it.

The answer had been staring at her the entire time.

And the kettle whistled loudly throughout the kitchen….


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Luis!" She screamed when she flashed the light on. "Luis!" He stirred slightly and she went over to him and shook him violently. "Luis! Luis! C'mon! Wake up!"

He was almost scared when he finally awoke. "Huh? What!"

"Luis! Wake up!"

"I'm up! I'm up!"

"Luis, I know where Gwen is!"

Now he was awake. "What, what, what?" he asked sleepily, still reeling from what he just heard. "Gwen's here?" But by the time his eyes were fully open and he was sitting up in bed, Theresa had left the room. Luis jumped from the bed and ran down the stairs in his boxers. He followed Theresa into the kitchen but before he could say another word, she quickly handed him the paper that Gwen had left to taunt them.

"Look, it's right there," Theresa exclaimed.

Luis studied the paper long and hard and saw nothing new. It looked the same. What was she talking about? "I don't see anything."

"Hold it in front of the candle."

Luis looked up and saw his mother's flickering flame dancing atop a red candle. Carefully, Luis held the piece of paper in front of the candle and let the light filter through it. Sure enough. He saw it. The words appeared as if he could always see them.

"I don't believe it." Luis stared at the paper in shock. How could he have missed this?

"It's been right in front of our faces this entire time. I just didn't put it together until now."

Clearly shown through the paper were five words that Gwen had intended them to see. It was just a matter of how long it would take them to. The glowing light showed through the much-folded paper and the words seemed to echo in the silence around them.

'I'M AT THE CRANE CABIN'

It was that simple.

"But… how?" Luis asked.

"Milk." Luis stared at his sister strangely. "Luis don't you remember what we learned in grammar school? Use milk to write a message and it seems invisible to the naked eye but once the piece of paper is put in front of a flame or light, the words shine right through."

"Oh, that's right," Luis said, getting images of first grade life.

"Gwen wanted us to see this. She was counting on it." Theresa stared at Luis nervously and he finally looked up from the paper.

"But, Theresa, are you sure?"

"What do you mean? Of course I am. It says right there that she's at the cabin."

"But," he disagreed, "it could be some kind ploy to mess with your head. What if she's somewhere else?"

Theresa took the note in her hands and turned it over showing him the riddle that Gwen had left behind. " 'MADE OF WOOD', that's the cabin. 'AND SPURNED OF SHINE' is…. it's the Crane wealth. The Crane money built it. 'MANY NIGHTS WHERE HE WAS MINE', Ethan used to take her up there all the time when they were together. 'STOLEN SONG AND COLDENED RAIN'. Well coldened rain is snow. There was always snow when we'd go up there."

"What about stolen song?" Luis asked.

"I… Well, it-- the only thing I can guess it's referring to is the night when Ethan and I sang a song together. But, I'm not sure how she'd find out about it. But it doesn't matter because it all fits. 'TRUSTING AND DECEIVING RESULTS IN PAIN.' Luis, it all fits. She's at the cabin. I know it." Luis took the note from her again and studied the words that showed through with the flame.

I'M AT THE CRANE CABIN

What if she was?

Without another word, Theresa ran past him and back upstairs. She pulled a sweater over Ethan's old Harvard t-shirt and almost put a pair of jeans over her pajama pants in her haste.

A minute later, Luis met Theresa in her bedroom while she tried to put her hair up in a ponytail.

"Theresa, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Theresa said as she turned from the mirror. "I'm going to the Crane Cabin." She slipped a pair of shoes on her feet and pushed past Luis. He spun into the hallway but she had already run down the stairs. Still a little groggy, Luis followed her.

"Wait, Theresa-"

"Look, Luis. My husband and my son are out there and there's nothing that you can say that's gonna keep me from them. Now, you can come with me or you can stay here." Her eyes were firm when she spoke. "But I'd really like your help."

Luis let out an exasperated sigh and stared at his sister. He held the stare for a long time and he felt guilty when he saw the pleading in his little sister's eyes. "Okay…," he breathed. "I'll go with you." It took Theresa a moment to fully register his agreement to go with her but just as she began to smile, he spoke again. "But, we do it on my terms. I'm the cop, just please, let's do it careful, okay?"

It was strange that Luis, having known Theresa his entire life, didn't pick up on her subtlety. The look in her eye would have told anyone that had known her for as long as Luis had that she wasn't about to play by anyone's rules. Especially now.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Promise?" Luis questioned his notoriously-scheming-sister's motives.

Theresa flicked a piece of hair away from her eyes and nodded. "I just want them back."

Luis opened his arms to her and she fell into him in a hug. "I know. We'll get them back. Just gimme a minute. I'm gonna go put a shirt on. I'll be right down." When he walked towards the stairs, Luis eyed his sister as if he didn't believe that she'd stay to wait for him. Maybe it was a good thing he did watch her because she had to fight back any urge she had to dash through the door and head for her loved ones.

When Luis came back downstairs, he had dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt and as he came around the banister, he slid on his black jacket around his arms to finish. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."

It was almost funny how quickly an impatient Theresa jolted from the couch to the driveway, but he knew she was desperate. Her family was all she had and after having almost lost them a few months ago, at the hands of Gwen, she wasn't about to do it again-- especially to the same woman.

Theresa shoved the key into the front door of her car and was about to sit in the driver's seat when she stood up and spoke to Luis. "Wait, Luis. Why don't you follow me? I know a short cut."

"How far is this place?"

"It's about two and half hours outside of Harmony, but I can get there in about one and a half- two."

"Okay," Luis said, opening the door to his car. "I'll call for backup from the road and tell them the way we're going."

"That's fine. I'll have my phone on in case we get separated on the road."

Theresa was the first to pull out of the driveway and Luis had to speed up to catch up to her. She may have been leading but she wasn't waiting for anything. Theresa knew exactly where she was going and rarely checked her mirror to make sure Luis was still with her.

For several minutes Luis tried to keep up with Theresa and it seemed like if a cop saw him driving the way he was to keep up, he would get his license revoked. Theresa was obviously in a hurry when she quickly changed lanes and changed back so she could pass the guy that was in front of her. Luis tried to follow but as they hit one of the busiest streets in Harmony that would take them on their way, they hit a red light.

Luis and Theresa were one car apart but it didn't seem like much. As soon as the light turned green, Luis would try to get back behind her. He took the opportunity to call the station to let them know that he'd need back up and picked up his phone.

-- "Cortez here."

"Mark, it's Luis."

-- "Hey, listen, I think I got a-"

"Listen, we found 'em. Gwen's at the Crane Cabin."

-- "Oh well, that's nice. You put me on the case and then do my job for me." Mark sounded awfully bitter about it.

"Mark, look, I don't have time for this. I'm on the road right now. Me and Theresa are driving up there so we should be there soon. Tell the chief to send backup to meet us on the expressway by the state line, close to the mountains."

-- "And you think the chief is just gonna go with this?"

Luis was getting agitated because the red light seemed to be lasting for a very long time and he wasn't sure why. He heard a dinging sound and when he looked up he saw a flashing red light next to the right lane. And then he heard the train tear through. The rumble of the street and the loud churn of the engine charged through the street and the car shook.

-- "Yo," Mark called, "you still there?"

"Yeah. Look, just tell the chief that I need backup."

-- "But, Luis-"

"Just do it!" Luis snapped his phone shut and he saw the last train cars trail by. The lights began to flash again and the cars in the front were impatient and ready to charge through the railway blockers.

The striped sticks in front of her car finally went up. "It's about time," she sighed. She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw Luis a car behind her. The train was far enough away and the lights still hadn't changed. "C'mon!" she yelled impatiently at the lights that couldn't hear her. Finally, the lights changed from green to red and Theresa hit the gas. She charged through the intersection and cleared it with a rev of her motor. As the car behind her went to follow her through the crossway of streets, a car going the opposite way wasn't exactly paying attention. The man saw that the train had cleared and didn't bother to see that he still had a red light. When his foot hit the gas, a second passed before he slammed right into the car that was behind Theresa with a crash.

Luis was following close behind the car in front him to try to catch back up with Theresa. Then suddenly, a red car flew from the right just as he got to the middle of the intersection. Had Luis not immediately slammed on the brakes, he would have been somewhere inside the other car's trunk. His brakes brought the car to a screeching halt just inches from the hit car in front of him. Luis quickly got out of the vehicle to see what the hell had happened. He stretched his neck high to see if Theresa had stopped, but all he saw was her taillights fading into the dawn of a new day.

Luis slammed his hand on the roof of his car in anger and immediately chaos broke out across the street. Thankfully, both drivers were okay but their cars were a different story. Luis knew both were totaled and today of all days, the day he didn't have time to be, he needed to be a cop.

Theresa looked in her rearview mirror and saw an angry Luis emerge from his car and she continued on her way. "Sorry, Luis. I told you that nothing was gonna stop me from getting to them. And nothing will."

Luis dialed his phone hard and pressed it to his ear. "C'mon, Theresa. Pick up. C'mon." No answer.

Theresa heard her phone ringing in her purse in the seat next to her. She took one hand off the wheel and searched her purse for the buzzing object. When she brought her hand back to the wheel, she pressed a button and her thoughts were confirmed. It was Luis. She closed her phone and ignored any more calls he made to her.

"Damn it!" he cursed. Theresa wasn't picking up on purpose. She didn't want to wait for him and it was making him angry. After all, she was going on a short cut and he had no idea how to get there in the first place. Luis dialed a different number and waited for him to answer on the other line.

-- "You know, if you keep calling, the other officers are gonna start talking."

"Mark, listen, I need directions to the Crane Cabin."

-- "I thought you were on your way there."

"I was. My little sister got away from me."

-- "Sounds like you."

"Just get me the directions, okay?"

-- "Whatever you say, boss."

"And get me the number for Winthrop and Ryan."

-- "I have it right here. I'll patch ya through." Mark put Luis on hold and dialed the number for Ethan's practice. When the other line began to ring, he pushed the button and let Luis through.

-- "Winthrop and Ryan. This is Michelle speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hi, I need to talk to Matt right away, please."

-- "I'm sorry, sir. He's-"

"Look, Michelle, this is Lieutenant Lopez-Fitzgerald. Now, we can play this little game or I can come down there again and storm into his office like you made me last time. But, quite frankly, I'm not in the mood and don't have the time right now."

Michelle didn't make a sound and scoffed when she held the phone to her chest. She paged Matt and told him he had a call waiting and wanted nothing more than to hang up while she waited for Matt to pick up. It was a _very _tempting thought.

-- "Talk to me," Matt greeted.

"Matt, it's Luis. Theresa's brother."

-- "Oh hey, brother of my partner's wife! How's it going?"

Luis paused and seemed a little confused. "Matt, are you drunk?"

Matt laughed on the other end. -- "No way. I'm like this all the time."

"Uh huh…"

-- "So, what can I do for you today, lieutenant?"

"We found Ethan."

-- "Great! Where is he?"

"At the Crane Cabin. Theresa's on her way right now."

-- "Well, duh. I should have thought of that. Ethan lent it to customers sometimes and even let me have it for the weekend."

"Listen, you wouldn't happen to know a shortcut to get there would ya?"

-- "A shortcut? Actually, now that you mention it, yeah. Ethan told me of a way to get there faster."

"Great. Can you hold on for one second?"

-- "Absolutely not," Matt said playfully.

"Thanks." Luis put Matt on hold and transferred over to Mark. "Mark, forget the directions, we don't need 'em. Now we need a chopper."

-- "A chopper? What for?"

"Just get one, okay. Call me when you got it covered." Luis didn't give Mark a chance to respond and went back to Matt. "All right, what is this shortcut?" Luis asked him as he pulled out his notepad.

* * *

Theresa was well on her way to the cabin and pushed her speed on the expressway. The farther she got from Harmony the more isolated it seemed. No houses, just open land. Up ahead she could see the purple line of mountains and the orange light of a new day. She had just realized that she hadn't really slept but the adrenaline pumping in her veins was too strong to allow her to feel any exhaustion. Especially now when she was about to come face to face with her enemy--Gwen. Theresa looked at her watch. 3:42 a.m. She should be at the cabin and hopefully, in her family's arms in about an hour.

"Hold on, guys. I'm coming," she whispered.

* * *

Matt recounted all he could remember of the shortcut Ethan once told him about. Luis marked it all down and made sure that his writing would be legible to him later. As he wrote down the last sentence, he heard a beep in his left ear.

"Hey, Matt, can you hold on a sec? Someone's on the other line." He switched over and continued writing. "Lopez-Fitzgerald."

-- "Luis, we got a problem."

"What? We can't get the chopper?"

-- "No, we got it."

"What's the problem?"

-- "Well, see, in order for one to ride in a so called helicopter, one would need one to fly the so called helicopter."

"You lost me."

-- "We don't have a freaking pilot!"

"Why not? There's plenty of guys that can fly one."

-- "True, but the chief has to assign them to do it."

"And you're saying that he won't?"

--- "No. He says that because this isn't a 'warranted' cause, we need to find our own. You're lucky you're his friend, pal. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten the chopper in the first place."

"I know. But, damn it! Where the hell are we gonna find a pilot now!"

-- "Don't know. I'll check around the station to see if anyone has their license. I'll call ya if I find anyone."

Luis switched back over to Matt. "Well, it looks like it just gets harder and harder for us to get to the cabin."

-- "Why? What's up?" Matt asked.

"We don't have a pilot to fly the helicopter. Chief says that we need a warranted reason to get one and he's giving it to me on a friendly loan. I need to find my own pilot like NOW! Where the hell do I find one this early in the morning in Harmony?"

-- "Well… I think I know a guy…"

* * *

It had been over an hour since Theresa had pulled out of her driveway and she was still on her way to the cabin. She could begin to feel the altitude difference as she approached the mountains where the Crane Cabin was located. It was so beautiful out here. The road was lined with grand pine trees and the peaks of mountains showed upon the horizon. Theresa felt that she was getting closer as she approached more and more familiar things. A large green sign with white letters on her left told her that she was almost there. Just two miles to go.

Theresa gripped the steering wheel and noticed that the closer she drew to the cabin, the tighter her hands got. As much as she tried to fight it, her hands were sweating and she could now hear the sound of her own heartbeat. She suddenly realized that she didn't have a plan, no game strategy as to what she was gonna do once she got to the cabin. Well, she was almost there and could see the brown shelter peaking out from the trees ahead of her. The time had come…

* * *

Luis couldn't believe he was doing this. Mark climbed into the back of the helicopter and Luis took his seat in the passenger's seat. The thump of the turning wings of the chopper was loud and it seemed to make Luis even more angry for agreeing to this.

His pilot walked towards the flying vehicle and took his seat in the front. He placed the headphones over his ears and strapped himself in.

"Ready to go?" the pilot asked.

Luis gave him a dirty look. "Just get us there, will ya?"

"Ay ay, sir." He grabbed the joystick that maneuvered the craft and it began to hover. Quickly, a large bird flew in front of the windshield and he removed his hand from the flying joystick to point at it. "Oh, look!" he pointed out. Suddenly, the helicopter fell back down to its pad with a crash and Luis panicked.

"What the hell are you doing! Trying to kill us all!"

"Okay, okay. I just wanted to-"

"Matt!" Luis yelled.

Matt silently laughed to himself and he began to fly them to their destination….


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12_

This was stupid. They were in the air for twenty minutes now and Luis was thankful that he could see the cabin in the distance. Matt was annoying the hell out of him. When they got high enough, all three men took off the ear phones. There was silence for a few moments and Luis jumped when Matt broke out into song. He would do it every few minutes and he could sing in one of the highest pitched voices Luis had ever heard. First it was 'Get Your Freak On' by Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliot and it ranged all the way to 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion.

Luis' hands gripped tighter on the seat of the chair he sat in and he gritted his teeth tighter with every song. Now it was his breaking point when Matt thrust his head forward with a "Bye, Bye, Bye!"

"Matt!"

Luis' scream didn't seem to phase Matt at all. "Oh, sorry. Sometimes I forget that other people are with me. I'm used to driving alone and I got in the habit of singing. You ever do that? Sing in the car? Sometimes I sing at work and then when Ethan-"

"Matt!"

Matt winced. "Okay, okay. Sorry," he smiled to himself. This was fun.

Luis pointed through the windshield. "There's the cabin. The pad is behind it by the lake." Luis and Mark began preparing themselves and they were making sure they had everything they needed. Matt continued flying the helicopter, evilly contemplating if he should start singing again. Luis checked his pockets and padded his holster to make sure everything was in check. That's when he felt it. It was missing.

"Shit!" Luis swore.

"What's the matter?" Mark asked him from the backseat.

Luis stared off, not believing this at all. "She took my gun. Theresa has my gun…"

* * *

She was in the car, hidden by the trees that kept the cabin hidden. Her heart was pounding and her hand was writing fiercely on the paper that she had obtained from the glove compartment. As she wrote, her eyes were spilling tears when she saw the words her mind was saying. She wrote the last four words to the person it would be addressed to and she knew that she had never meant anything more in her life. She signed her name in the special way that she had ever since high school with the bottom of the T making a loop with the top and the H blurring into the T and the following E. It was almost a calligraphic dance when the curling end of the A sank down underneath the name and designed in a final flick of her hand.

By the time the letter was finished, Theresa reread it and folded it gently and wrote the recipient's name on the back. Now it was time and she couldn't be more ready. She pulled Luis' gun from the front of her jeans and stared at the dangerous piece of steel in her hand. It was an automatic 9 mm and she was sure it would do the damage it was known for-- the ultimate. Theresa pulled back the top of the gun and let a bullet proceed to the chamber, ready to explode with fierceness. She put the gun back into her pants and placed the folded letter on her dashboard. It was time.

After saying a silent prayer like her mother had taught her and after slowly stepping out of her car, Theresa began to make her way to the cabin. She could tell it was dark inside and the crunch of gravel beneath her feet heightened her frantic senses. Just as she got to the first step leading up to the door, she head the murmur of helicopter wings above her. When she looked up, she saw Luis' concerned face looking down at her. She turned back to the stairs and made her way to the door.

"Sorry, Luis. This is my fight…" And with a trembling hand, Theresa turned the knob and the door opened with a creak revealing a dark room.

It had begun and she knew that no matter how this would all end, her life would never be the same ever again.

* * *

Gwen had been in there for hours it seemed. She sat in a chair propped in front of her iron monstrosity and taunted a teary Ethan with news of Theresa's miscarriage. She mentioned how much of a failure Theresa was and how horribly she fought back the other night, almost as if she knew she was pregnant and she wanted to lose the baby.

The images of a struggling Theresa fighting for her life brought tears of anger to Ethan's eyes. The way Gwen was describing it was almost unbearable now. Now that he stared at Gwen, his heart filled with dread for knowing that he was and always would be the everlasting link between the two women; his wife and the woman that was hell-bent on destroying her.

"You know, Ethan, you should really tell Theresa to take some kind of self-defense classes. She was pitiful the other night. She didn't know how to fight back at all. She felt like a twig when I pushed her up against the wall. And I could have snapped her like one too… But I didn't. I wanted to see her suffer. And she will. I'll make sure of it." Gwen smiled when she saw the anguish in Ethan's eyes, knowing full well that he was trying to make it seem like he wasn't listening but he was. "The only real fight she seemed to give was when I told her that she would never see her son again. But you know what they say, never attack in anger. It only made it worse for her. The poor thing, she was trying to fight back but she didn't know how-- only making it easier for me-- I pushed her down the stairs and you could hear the pounding of her body all the way down. It was beautiful…"

Ethan's entire body was screaming for him to stay calm. His mind was reeling images of him attacking Gwen with every ounce of strength that his ravished body could summon. It was insane to think that this woman used to be his wife. She used to be the woman that he'd kiss before bed every night. But that was just it, she wasn't the same woman anymore. She had changed. Everything about her changed. Her mind, her heart, her soul. The Gwen that he had married no longer existed. All that was left in her place was a black void that only kept growing in size and filling with hate. A hatred for Theresa that would never seem to die. But then, perhaps the Gwen he knew was just an act and the heartless, soulless Gwen had always been there.

"Who knows, maybe Theresa learned her fighting techniques from Mommy Dearest here," she referred to Pilar. "It was crazy, Ethan. They both came at me knowing they had nothing to defend themselves with. You'd think they'd be smarter than that!"

"You heartless bitch!" Pilar yelled.

Gwen switched her focus over to her in the corner of the dark room with a blink. Her lips turned upward in a smile. "Yes… well, now you see what your daughter has made me." Pilar stared at her and saw the truly hateful monster that she was. Ethan tried his hardest to block out anything that Gwen was saying. His heart broke for Theresa and he could just imagine how badly she was hurting; she had just lost a baby- a baby he knew she wanted. A baby that he wanted. And it was all Gwen's fault.

"Don't cry, Ethan. The baby probably wasn't even yours."

Ethan finally looked up at Gwen, his eyes slicing with anger. "Don't ev-" he began but he was interrupted by a sound.

Gwen turned her eyes toward the ceiling and she listened intently. The thump of the helicopter got closer and Gwen's mind registered and she smiled again. "Good," she said looking back at her prisoners. "She's here." Pilar and Ethan looked up suddenly afraid. They wanted to be saved but they knew if Gwen got to her first, Gwen would kill her. "Let the games begin," Gwen smirked.

Ethan shot up from his cot and went to the extent of the cage. "Gwen, please!" he pleaded.

"Ah, ah, ah…," Gwen warned. She once again pulled the black remote from her pocket and pressed down on the red button. Ethan ripped his hands away just in time and was careful not to touch the electric metal. "Careful, now. I wouldn't want you to get hurt. I'll save that for Theresa…"

The sickening dread of knowing he could do nothing upset him and made Ethan even more furious. All he needed was that remote-- the very remote that was wedged between a retreating Gwen's hand.

"Oh," Gwen began, turning back to Ethan, "and if you make it easy for her find you, if you make any noise or yell, you can just say goodbye to your son…"

Ethan stared at her, not believing she'd even threaten it. "You wouldn't…," he whispered.

She was silent and took a few steps closer to the cage. Her smirk was wicked when she spoke. "Try me."

Ethan didn't say anything and he once again saw the dangerous fire in her eyes. Without another word, Gwen left the dark room, the door slamming behind her. Ethan and Pilar turned to each other, their eyes full of worry. And the word uttered from Ethan's mouth carried the smooth sound of love just as it always had: "Theresa…."

* * *

Carefully, under Luis' order, Matt landed the helicopter quietly, trying his best not to sing; Siquo's voice and 'Wild Wild West' just popped into his head. Mark jumped out of the helicopter when Luis called him back.

"Give Matt your earpiece," he said turning to Matt. "Stay here. Let me know if Gwen comes out here, got it? If you see anything, or if anything goes wrong, call the chief."

Matt nodded hesitantly before asking, "Well, what's gonna go wrong?"

Luis didn't answer his question and jumped out of the chopper. Matt looked quizzically at a departing Luis and fumbled trying to put the ear piece on. The cord hanging from the bottom kept getting in his mouth.

"Oh, and Matt," Luis reminded, "for the love of god, no singing!"

* * *

What was she getting herself into now? Her heart was pounding against her ribs and the surge of adrenaline was flowing all throughout her body. The 9mm was cocked in her hand and she tried to keep her hands from shaking.

The last memories of being here flooded her mind. Even though Ethan was no longer a Crane and Julian and Alistair had cut him off years ago, Julian granted him unlimited use of the cabin for his clients or for himself. Ethan brought her up her a few times before he was outed as a Bennett. They would cuddle by the fire and he would hold her and listen to her hopes for the future, making wishes on the flames that all of her dreams would come true.

Their times at the cabin were always magical. They would play in the hot tub and watch the steam rise into the winter air and later they'd make their own steam; an uncontrollable desire. The one night that he had brought her up here that Gwen knew about for certain was the night that she caught them snuggling by the fire to keep warm, and that was their first confrontation at the cabin. Tonight would be their last…

It was strange to be in a place that held so many happy memories and now would be a place of fear. Gwen was here somewhere and Ethan… She didn't really know anymore. Passing into the living room, Theresa saw that Gwen had covered the furniture. White sheets collected the dust, giving off huge, monster-like shapes. Even though she wanted to charge into the cabin, her feet seemed more comfortable to step through carefully. The quiet sound of her rubber-soled shoes was like a touch to a pad, gently easing her nerves.

After seeing the living room was empty, Theresa continued her path down one of the hallways, focusing her attention to a door that had a crease of light beneath it. Her thumb and trigger finger tightened around the sweat-moistened gun, increasing the pressure on the bullet. She wouldn't give Gwen another chance to beat her. Theresa took hold of the brass knob and turned it slowly, the silence surrounding her allowing her to hear each click.

Her hand, shaking in both anticipation and fear, pushed the door open, revealing what lay inside. The illuminated room spread light into the darkness of the hallway, giving it a sudden glow. The door was open and Theresa was ready. Just as she had seen in police movies and such, she took a step back and pressed her back against the wall next to the doorway. Both hands were around the gun now and she held it upright next to her face, preparing herself for what was to come. Strange, she thought. Even thought she had opened the door, she still heard no movement. Theresa took one more deep breath and thought of her family and why she was here. Suddenly finding her courage renewed, Theresa flipped to face the room, the pistol aimed in front of her.

The room was empty. When she stepped inside, all Theresa saw was a large bed covered in expensive dressings. Now that she looked at the bed, she could see that the covers had recently been disturbed. Slowly, Theresa crouched down and saw that there was nothing underneath the bed. She looked up and slowly scanned the room for any sign of Gwen. There was nothing. Her eyes quickly registered a closet on her left side-- the door was closed-- making her senses squirm. Theresa stared it for a long minute, trying to gather her strength. Slowly, she traced steps toward the closet and her hand reached out, ready to touch the doorknob.

Her chest quickened and her breath stilled. There was something waiting for her behind the door, she could feel it. She rested her hand on the knob and felt her wrist turning with exaggeration, slowly tensing her body. Her hand was on the final click but the next sound was no door opening. The clang was loud and had a resonating, steel-like sound to it. The hand that was to the door jumped back at Theresa in fright and her heartbeat pounded harder against her ribcage. Her breathing suddenly became shallow and the room seemed to pulsate around her, making her throat constrict and making it harder to focus.

What was that sound? She didn't smell any sign of animals so it couldn't be a cat or something… Again Theresa pointed the gun in front of her and led herself out of the room and into the darkness of the cabin. She walked down a narrow hallway that curved and found herself amidst many closed doors. But there was one up ahead on the left that seemed to be open. Theresa clamped on the gun and told herself to be brave. With a spin and a kick of her gym shoe-soled shoe, she kicked open the door and it swung back and forth on the wall behind it.

The kitchen was modern looking with marble counters no doubt imported from Italy's Carrera and racks of crystal glasses and steel pots and pans hanging above the island in the center of the room. High-tech appliances sat against the walls and the floor was tiled in what appeared to be imported marble as well. As Theresa looked around the lavish cuisine area, she found that four cabinets were swung open below one of the sinks and dishes, pots, pans, and even some silverware was strewn about. This was no animal if she had even the slightest suspicion of it being so. Someone did it purposely and it didn't seem like there was a reason other than to get her in here. But why?

With that thought in mind, Theresa quickly took her guard again and carefully cased every nook that was possible for hiding. There was a dining room table that was exquisite but it looked as though it hadn't been dusted in years. The china was stunning and Theresa tried her best to make sure that Gwen wasn't behind her every few seconds. Over by the refrigerator that looked as if it held food for a supermarket, Theresa saw a small garbage can on the floor. When she looked closer, a sickening feeling washed over her when she saw the crimson stained photo. She and Ethan were holding each other, both with huge smiles and the picture was covered in a dried, red liquid. When Theresa picked up the picture that she had a copy of in her wallet, she saw the frame and the shattered glass underneath. The shards were too covered in what she finally realized to be blood and she knew that it could only have come from one person-- Gwen. Theresa slowly let the picture fall back down and when she turned around, the shock of her life stood before her…

* * *

Luis and Mark trudged slowly up the walkway and then Luis changed his direction. Before he could reach the few steps leading up to the front door, Luis walked away.

"Luis, where ya goin'?" Mark asked concerned.

"Shh." Luis warned. "I'm going 'round back. Gwen's probably waiting for us up front."

"Okay, I'll take the front."

"No, you won't. We have no idea what kind of weapons Gwen or anyone else has inside there. Follow me and we'll see where we go from there."

Mark gave no argument and for some reason, he got the feeling like he was in some war zone rather than a lavish getaway.

Luis walked with a hunch, keeping his head below the windows to keep out of sight and he checked in on Matt back in the helicopter every once in a while.

"Matt, it's Luis, you there?" he began.

"Hey there, looky-loo." Luis had finally come to the conclusion that Matt was beyond all mental help. "Catch any bad guys yet? Or no. How's this? Bad girls…?" Matt immediately fell into hysterical laughter and Luis almost wished that he hadn't contacted him at all.

Luis broke through Matt's laughter and tried to get him to concentrate. "Matt, pay attention! Mark and I are going through the back but keep an eye out for Gwen."

"Why? Is she coming out already?"

Luis rolled his eyes and shut off the connection. "And to think that guy went to Yale…"

* * *

Ethan and Pilar were beside themselves and they had no idea what to do. If they shouted, they might be condemning themselves, Little Ethan, and Theresa to death. If they said nothing, they left Theresa alone at the hands of Gwen and the pressure was becoming too much for them.

Ethan was sitting with his face in his hands and he hated being so close to Theresa and yet not being able to help her. He was her husband and he promised her that he would do whatever it took to protect her. Ironic, wasn't it…? He promised to protect Theresa and yet he was the one locked in a cage. What was he supposed to do now? His wife was at the mercy of a psychotic woman that would do anything to get what she wanted and he already knew that she wanted Theresa dead.

"What are we going to do, Ethan?" a shaky voice asked from the corner.

Ethan turned to Pilar and stared for a brief second. For a moment, he thought he saw Theresa's eyes staring at him and it seared into his soul, cutting and slicing at his heart with anguish. "I don't know what we can do…"

Ethan and Pilar had heard the loud bang that Theresa went to investigate and they hoped that Theresa was okay. But who were they kidding? She was now in the hands of a monster.

* * *

The gun was still in her hand but it was pointing downwards as she stared down the chamber of another.

"Hi, Theresa," Gwen greeted, her voice dripping with distain. "You finally got my invitation. I've been waiting for you." Gwen's pistol was aimed at Theresa's head and Theresa didn't know what to do. Her chest spasmed in a breath as she tried to speak.

"Gwen, I--" When Theresa tried to speak, Gwen pulled the hammer back, telling Theresa this just wasn't the time for small talk.

Gwen smiled wickedly, relishing in the fact that she could make Theresa squirm so. "Oh, Theresa… I've been waiting for this." The black tube was cocked in front of her face; the color mirroring the darkness of Gwen's heart. Gwen crossed her left foot in front of her right, making Theresa turn with her, starting a slow circular motion between the two. "How's it feel, Theresa? To know that you lost everything to your enemy…?" Theresa said nothing and made sure she paid attention to Gwen's finger around the trigger. "It's what I've felt ever since you killed Sarah and stole everything that I've ever loved."

Theresa felt a deep lump at the back of her throat. No matter how many times Ethan had told her otherwise, she still felt guilty. She felt responsible for everything that Gwen accused her of and had finally convinced herself that Gwen was right. She was to blame for everything.

Theresa opened her mouth to speak and Gwen's gun plunged closer to Theresa's face. "I don't think so," she snarled. Gwen and Theresa continued their round path with a slow, shaky pace. Gwen mentioned Ethan and Theresa's ears were ringing in her pressing thoughts to think of a way out. If she ran, Gwen would undoubtedly shoot her. If she tried to call out, Gwen would shoot her. If she tried to point her gun up at Gwen, Gwen wouldn't think twice about ending her life. It was as simple as that. It was almost ironic when Theresa figured that her life was in the hands of the person that hated her the most and couldn't wait to see her dead.

"You know, Theresa, I want you to know that I'm doing you a favor. You've seemed to make a royal mess of everything in your path and I'm happy to relieve you of it all." Their winding circle stopped and Gwen made sure that the tip of the gun was pointed in the center of Theresa's forehead-- the exact place for extensive, fatal damage. "And I want you to know that I will take care of your family. I'll love Little Ethan as my very own and Ethan… well, we'll pick up right where we left off before you bewitched him and took him from my life." There was a silent pause and Theresa did her best not to dwell on what Gwen had just said. It was too painful to think of what she could be losing. But Gwen was right. They fought the battle and Gwen won-- just as she said she would. "Say goodbye, Theresa…" Gwen's finger tightened on the trigger and Theresa closed her eyes. She heard a loud noise and saw a flash.

BANG.

* * *

The sun had risen overhead and Luis and Mark felt like hunters as they crouched around large windows and ducked behind bushes. They were on their guard while looking for a safe way in. They couldn't use the front entrance; it was way to obvious. While the cabin was tiny in comparison to the Crane Mansion, it was still relatively large. Luis had seen the blueprints once and he could remember that it held five bedrooms, one master room, a large kitchen and dining room, four bathrooms, a hot tub, the helicopter pad that he had just landed in, two parlors, and three fireplaces. Not to mention that as large as it was, the price of the small estate came from what furnished it inside.

The sound of the wind easing through the bushes was the only other sound besides his pulse that Luis paid attention to. Mark was close behind him, mimicking his every move with caution, keeping his eyes sharp for any movement. As the first birds of the morning began to sing, Luis slowed his motions and stopped next to a fold in the outer walls that would hide him from view. He had spotted his way in up ahead and paused to ready himself.

Luis' voice was in a whisper and almost out of breath when he spoke to Mark. "Okay, see that window up there?" he asked, cocking his head in the direction that he wanted Mark to look. "It's low enough for us to get in."

Mark nodded peeked past the covering of the fold and looked at the small, arched window that seemed to be no bigger than three feet wide. "But how do you know that Gwen isn't in there?"

"I don't. We're just gonna have to take a chance." Mark gave Luis a quizzical look. He had never known Luis to be a risk taker when it came to official police business. He was usually an aggressive man but still a smooth cop nonetheless. "Look, that's my baby sister in there. Gwen has my mom and my nephew and my brother-in-law. I have to…" Luis didn't wait long enough to seek his partner's confirmation and he turned in to station à la Matt.

When Luis turned the channel to Matt's receiver on the gauge on his hip, it took a minute before he heard anything and a crackling sound annoyed him while he tried to make out what he was hearing. Through the fuzz, Luis could have sworn that he heard the chorus to 'Genie In A Bottle' and it scared him to say the least.

"Matt! You there?"

The message back sounded something like, "Ipdk jek keker"

"Hello? Matt, can you hear me?" There was more static and Matt's words continued to be jumbled into some alien language beyond comprehension. "Okay, Matt," Luis began, finding himself almost yelling as if it would help matters. "Listen, I need you to stay where you are and me and Mark are gonna go inside. Okay? Matt?"

"Ah, budk eemi… crkz," Luis heard Matt replied.

Luis took that to mean that Matt understood and switched the turner off. Mark asked if Matt understood what Luis said and Luis nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I think so... All right, let's go." The two men walked with their backs bent forward to the window a few yards away, ready to break the defenses and live up to their job description. Luis was right, the window was low enough for them to get in and they were lucky that no one was waiting for them inside. He was right about it all but what he didn't know was that Matt didn't hear what he told him. He heard something entirely different.

* * *

Matt sat in the pilot's seat of the helicopter with his earpiece in his hand. The confused look on his face wasn't the one that usually accompanied his persona but it was more intense and he wasn't sure if he had heard correctly. While Luis said that he and Mark were going to go inside and asked Matt to stay where he was, Matt heard, "Leave where you are. Me, you, and Mark are gonna go inside, okay?"

Matt wasn't sure if he heard Luis correctly but he did hear those words and Luis did seem to have a certain kind of panic in his voice. It was time. Matt unbuckled himself and grabbed the sides of his jacket and pulled them close, prepping himself. "All right," he said to himself. Carefully, and with an unusual slow trod, Matt hopped out of the helicopter, feeling like he was on a mission. As he stepped around the gray monstrosity, the lyrics were inescapable and he said them proudly:

"I'm having… the time of my life… and I owe it all to yoooouuuuu…."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Their eyes were frozen in emotion, both not believing the moment that had just escaped them. Theresa's body seemed to stand rigid in fear and she didn't move, Gwen's gaze hauntingly captivating. Both women held guns in their hands and for a moment, after the finger pulled around the trigger, she couldn't open her eyes for fear that she wouldn't be able to. A coy smile spread across her enemy's face and it seemed to taunt with more concern than it did fear.

_This was wrong._

She couldn't understand what had just happened. There was an impact over the entire moment that seemed to convey in a shattering silence; resonating in solitary noise. Theresa's chest was rising and falling with each quick breath, still in disbelief over what had happened. Gwen's eyes were solid in shock. _What happened?_ Both women stared into the eyes of their enemies and replayed the last few seconds in their minds.

* * *

_"You know, Theresa, I want you to know that I'm doing you a favor. You've seemed to make a royal mess of everything in your path and I'm happy to relieve you of it all." Their winding circle stopped and Gwen made sure that the tip of the gun was pointed in the center of Theresa's forehead-- the exact place for extensive, fatal damage. "And I want you to know that I will take care of your family. I'll love Little Ethan as my very own and Ethan… well, we'll pick up right where we left off before you bewitched him and took him from my life." There was a silent pause and Theresa did her best not to dwell on what Gwen had just said. It was too painful to think of what she could be losing. But Gwen was right. They fought the battle and Gwen won-- just as she said she would. "Say goodbye, Theresa…" Gwen's finger tightened on the trigger and Theresa closed her eyes. She heard a loud noise and saw a flash. _

BANG.

* * *

That sound continued to play inside both of their ears, clicking to life with the image of a gun. As Theresa remembered the gun pointed at her and the hatred in Gwen's eyes, she felt the ripples of the thoughts passing through her head. Tears stung when she thought that she might never taste her mother's hot chocolate at Christmas time again. The feeling of her brothers' hugs seemed to pull at her body and the curious gaze that left her son's eyes made her feel like a failure inside. The memories flooded her mind and the tears quickly threatened when she realized that she would never again know the scent of Little Ethan's hair after a bath or the look of aggressive protection in Luis' eyes or the sound of Ethan's heartbeat when he kissed her.

Ethan. Her husband; her hero.

Gwen's smile was terrifying and Theresa knew it would be the last thing she'd ever see. Not wanting to remember life that way, she closed her eyes and thought of the happier times of her life with the people she loved the most--the very people she couldn't help but feel that she had let down. Gwen's finger squeezed the trigger, silently saying au revoir to her mortal enemy that had been such a thorn in her side for many years. The next sound that escaped the silence surprised both the women.

Theresa slowly opened her eyes, wondering if she was still standing or if her body had gone into such shock that she didn't recognize what was happening around her. Gwen's gun was still in front of her but Gwen's smile slid from her visage in disgust. The sound they heard was the empty clicking of the gun barrel. Gwen turned the gun back to herself to inspect it and she learned that the gun only held one bullet and she had mistakenly thought it was in the next chamber to be shot.

When Theresa saw that Gwen was distracted and not paying attention, she took her moment to her advantage and tried to flee, the intensity around her making her forget about the pistol in her hand. Gwen immediately looked up and grabbed the wrist that held the gun and pulled her back. "And just where do you think you're going?" Theresa tried to speak, she _wanted_ to speak but her voice caught at the back of her throat in fear. With a quick flick of her wrist, Gwen flipped the chamber closed and just as she was about to shove the dark piece of steel back in Theresa's face, Theresa remembered that she too had a heavy object pulling at her arm on her left side. The two women, as if out of a movie, pulled the guns to each other's faces, arms stretched out .

Theresa's wrist was shaking and Gwen's arm had an unnerving calm, steady and ready to kill. It was almost a crazy feat and somehow Gwen got images of the Quick Draws of the Wild West in her mind. She laughed aloud, briefly throwing her head back. "Are you gonna shoot me, Theresa?"

Somehow Theresa didn't find it quite as funny. "Aren't you gonna shoot _me_?"

Gwen's eyebrows danced upwards, laughing along with the rest of her features. Her shoulders squared and fell with a quick shrug. "Depends. Do you want me to?" The mocking look on Gwen's face only infuriated Theresa further. Theresa didn't respond and Gwen couldn't help but let a hearty chuckle escape from her lips. It was a proud, annoying laugh that only dripped with a harsh sound that Theresa would never be able to forget. "Oh, Theresa…," she mocked. "What do we do now? Do we both shoot to see who dies first?" Theresa didn't answer again and let her spiteful stare burned into Gwen. "Did I scare you, Theresa? I saw you flinch when you heard me pull the trigger. How did it feel? To feel so close to death? Tell me… how did it feel to know that everything you love would be mine?"

Theresa's heart was pounding and she was sure that her rival could hear it. The gun was shaking slightly in her hand and she prayed for all the strength to keep her senses under control. _Could she really shoot Gwen?_ The time was coming quickly to find out.

"Let's play a game…," Gwen began. Her circular, vulture-like path continued once more and Theresa's ankles shook and felt heavy when she stepped. "Ever heard of Russian Roulet?" Theresa swallowed hard, trying to keep her weakening composure. She had heard of the torturous game from her brother Luis when he would tell her of the sick strategies people would play on their victims. A gun was used and only one bullet was loaded into it. The assailant would spin the chamber quickly, letting the one bullet dance inside the metal, taunting their victim. They would point the gun and pull the trigger a few times, the victim not knowing if the next round held a bullet; if their life would end in the next second.

Theresa was in no mood to play one of Gwen's stupid gun games and definitely could not stomach the fear. She would rather have Gwen shoot her than have to deal with the fear of losing her life with each click, even if she opened her eyes after it.

"Ready, Theresa? Time to play." Apparently Gwen didn't wait for Theresa's answer to the invitation to Russian Roulet and she didn't seem to notice. There was no time for reaction on Theresa's part and she stood there staring at her enemy a wondering look in her eyes. _What was she going to do? _With a quick motion, Gwen raised the gun to Theresa's head and squeezed the trigger.

BANG.

* * *

As Luis and Mark climbed through the window of the turned-dangerous lavish getaway, they felt a sense of accomplishment after waiting half an hour before finally being able to get in. Perhaps they had overestimated Gwen and had considered her dangerous enough to have machine guns pointed out from all the windows, but Luis wasn't taking any chances. He knew how much she hated Theresa and he was going to do this right to protect his baby sister. This was family and he wasn't going to let his stupid pride, even as a brother, interfere with saving those he loved.

Luis had used the butt of Mark's gun to break the glass and he had hoped that no one inside would have heard it. When he broke one of the panes enough to fit through, he hurled himself in side, careful not to fall on the broken glass on the floor. Mark followed his partner's lead and repeated his movements inside the cabin. Both men stood and kicked the glass away from their feet quietly and said nothing as they took in their surroundings.

They hadn't expected to enter this sort of room but it was then that they had realized it fit their purpose. There was a huge porcelain tub, empty of anything. Candles and other female bath tendencies surrounded the shelf around it. There were a few jets at the bottom of the ivory colored tub that told the detectives that it was a whirlpool. The bathroom was large and it didn't surprise them to find such a room in a Crane holding. The floor was marble tiling and it had a deep indigo tint speckled with a jade-like color.

As Mark looked over to the double-sinked counter, also ivory basins with marble surroundings, he gave a scoff when he noticed what was around the sinks. Several designer perfumes and exclusive day spa creams, facial aides, and crushed pearl and Dead Sea lotions.

_Only the best._

"Cranes…," Luis said distastefully as his gaze followed Mark's. But now was not the time to appraise or gawk at expensive items. They had a job to do. "Let's do this," Luis said, goading Mark to the door. As Mark's eyes looked from the fortune-costing cosmetics to Luis, he noticed the crimson color staining through the shirt he wore and across his cheek.

"You all right?" Mark asked Luis.

Luis looked confused and Mark nodded his head in the direction of the bloody lines. "Oh, yeah… I just--I scraped the glass on the way in," he said, patting the two streaked gashes on his left cheek. There was one on his side and there was a rip in his pants. Mark had torn a few threads on the way in but he had escaped with no slices touching his skin.

Without another word, Mark drew his weapon and stood close to Luis as he opened the door. Both men, being trained to do so, pressed themselves to the wall on either side of the door and waited for a sound. Mark had his gun cocked upwards and Luis felt out of place without a gun to hold between his palms. Both Luis and Mark waited for a sound and heard nothing. Luis looked over to Mark across from his and gave him a signal and nodded his head. With the swiftness that comes with practice at a police academy and nerves of steel, Mark launched his gun forward with both arms, making a V pointing outward to any foes that might face him. His shoulders were up, his legs apart for balance and it all took place in milliseconds.

As soon as Mark stepped into the doorway and faced the darkness before him, he heard a piercing sound that frightened him and made his blood rush faster. It was a woman's scream…

* * *

It was odd how accustomed Ethan's eyes had become to the darkness over the time he had been held captive by Gwen. The room that Gwen kept him in was covered from light, he guessed that she had somehow managed to conceal light from windows with tarps, blankets of some sort. He felt as a feline hunter would out in the night; their eyes reflecting every spec of light they could, moonlight or even the light silver of water, quickly giving them a night vision ability to see in darkness.

How long had he been held prisoner in this room? He couldn't tell anymore. It seemed as if it was always night now. His eyes had adapted to the lightless surroundings and he could make out the lines of two doors in the room. There was a rug in front of one of them, the origin no doubt Persian with red accents and a beautiful design.

There was so much time he had to think lately. Whether it was the thickness of the doors, his hate for Gwen, his hope for being rescued, Theresa's safety, his son, or his mother-in-law, it all haunted him in moments like this. He held Pilar close to him as he sat on the cot, her head on his shoulder. She had become so drained lately. She could no longer cry and her worry for her children, her grandchild, as well as herself had consumed her in a constant silence. She came to find some comfort in Ethan but scary thoughts still filled her mind. She still wondered if she would ever see her children again, or daylight for that matter. She wanted to know if Gwen would ever let her go or if she would keep her contempt forever in spite.

Ethan's mind constantly drifted to his wife and it was during those moments that he would look down to his bare left hand. It hurt him to see that the promise they had made to each other, symbolized in a beautiful band of gold, had been so carelessly discarded. Gwen had no doubt taken it the day she hit him over the head with a hard object. That was the day that his life had changed. His anger rose when he realized had he never accepted to go to the conference, especially when he knew Theresa needed him most, this would all never have happened.

Tears stung in his eyes when he thought of how Gwen had gone after a helpless Theresa with him gone, not able to do anything to help her. If only he hadn't left the house that day. If only he'd have stayed and prevented Gwen from attacking Theresa and her mother. If only he had been there to keep his child safe…

His child…

It was an almost unbearable pain when he thought of the child he would never know. The baby that he would never hold and watch sleep. If he could once understand Gwen's pain and if he could understand her desperation for getting revenge, he couldn't anymore. She had crossed that line of sympathy that he felt for her. All guilt he had felt for her once before had been washed over with anger and hatred. He hated her for what she had done to Theresa. He hated her for what she had done to Pilar. He would never forgive her for seizing his son and he would never be able to let his hatred pass for what she had done his unborn child.

The burning tears that threatened in his eyes were overtaken by anger that pulsed in him and it took every ounce of strength that he had left to restrain himself from doing anything foolish. He needed to think and as many times as he had tried to come up with a way to get out of the cage, he only came up with ideas that couldn't possibly work. He was trapped and it infuriated him to think that he couldn't do a thing about it.

He swallowed hard and tried to imagine what it would be like to have his family again. He wished he could feel Theresa. He wanted to brush Little Ethan's hair with his hands and he wanted Gwen to pay. So many thoughts and so many feelings were coursing through him. It was a minute later that he thought he heard something. It was loud and it sounded almost like something breaking.

Theresa.

His heart panicked immediately. He had heard the helicopter earlier and he begged and begged that she hadn't come for him. He knew Gwen's temper and had almost suffered from it. Ethan could only imagine what fury Gwen was going to unleash and he hated to think about it. When he heard that sound, his mind raced with questions.

_What's going on? Was it Theresa? Is she hurt? What is Gwen doing to her? Where's Little Ethan? Did she bring help? How could he get loose? _

He thought he heard voices but he couldn't be sure and it only heightened his worry even more. Pilar had been staring at blank nothingness when she stirred at the loud cracking sound of glass. Her expression immediately fell to worry.

"Ethan, what's going on?" she asked extremely concerned.

He said nothing and looked around to investigate. He saw nothing but the sound was terrifying. He couldn't take not being able to protect his wife but he wouldn't be able to sit around and listen to the fight. It was tearing him up inside.

Suddenly, a door that Ethan had been eyeing in the room earlier, the one with the Persian rug in front of it, cracked open and light flooded in, illuminating the darkness. Pilar took in a sharp gasp in fear and shook. Her hand flew to Ethan's knee and he could feel her tightening her touch. They were both afraid of what was to come through that door and he realized that they both had been holding their breaths waiting for whatever it was to emerge.

Images of a bloody and beaten Theresa raced through their minds. Hopeful flashes of a desperate and defeated Gwen flooded Ethan and Pilar's minds and when they waited to see who would be the broken woman, nothing happened. The door was open and they both stared at the empty doorway in suspense. As Pilar strained her neck to see into the lit room, she noticed the broken glass on the floor. Still, there was no one inside, or so it seemed.

Quickly, a figure spun from the door side and stood facing Pilar and Ethan with a gun outstretched. Pilar let out a sharp scream in fear and the man seemed confused. He was hunched slightly, a metal between his hands warming with the rise in his blood pressure. The light pouring in from the window of the bathroom behind him spilled light into the dark room and he was able to make out the outline of some kind of three-dimensional box. Two people were standing in it and he soon recognized their faces.

When Luis heard the scream, he immediately charged from behind the wall to backup his partner. He had first intended to rip through the room, ready to pounce on any enemy and when he saw who was behind the cage, he stopped. He froze in shock and disbelief and everything around him seemed to stand still. Luis pushed past Mark and ran to the black cage. Still in disbelief at who had come through the door, Pilar still hadn't taken in a breath.

"Mijo!" she cried when she saw Luis striding towards the cage.

"Mama!" They ran to the edges of the cage, their hands outstretched. Pilar stopped quickly as she was about to touch the electric confines in front of her. She was so close she could see the white veins of electricity stemming with blue and purple branches. She caught herself from going too far but the millisecond passed rapidly and she didn't have a chance to warn her son of the sparking danger ahead of him. Luis went forward and grabbed two bars in his hands, the one in his right almost straight and the one in his left at an odd angle that seemed odd for a cage.

Luis let out a strange scream when he felt the heat and stinging pain of the bars. The sound was an unrecognizable word and he ripped his hands away quickly. He stared down and his hands were singed, indentions and dark red lines streaking across his palms.

"What the--" Mark yelled. His rigid pose melted and he let his hands fall to his side, bringing his weapon to a safer level.

The sound Luis' flesh made when in contact with the powered steel was unique and none in the room would ever forget it. Luis and Pilar stared at his hands, guilt washing over the latter person for not warning her son of the danger.

"What is this?" a scared Luis asked.

Before Pilar had a chance to answer, Ethan emerged from the dark of the cage. "Gwen has us trapped in here." Luis noted a disheveled-looking Ethan bare-chested and was relieved to see him. He knew how worried Theresa was about him and to see him alive and well relaxed his worry for his sister. If anything had happened to Ethan, Theresa would never be able to forgive herself, Luis knew. His mind went to his little sister and he hoped to every higher power that she was all right, wherever she was.

"Isn't there a way to turn it off?" Luis asked.

"Yeah," Ethan replied. "A little black remote."

Ethan had given Luis a false sense of hope. "Great, where is it?"

Pilar and Ethan shared a resentful stare and slowly turned back to Luis. "Gwen has it," they said together. Even though the words didn't carry much of an impact, Luis felt his heart sink. It was inescapable now. Gwen truly did hold all the cards.

* * *

Matt imitated the pompous, New York style detectives he saw on TV as he hurled around bushes and pressed his back against trees. He was on a mission, he knew. It filled him with a sense of adventure and even though he fully grasped the gravity of the situation at hand, he also took some odd pleasure in knowing that it was now up to him to save the day; and he would.

He hadn't told Luis because he knew that he'd take it from him but he brought his 36 automatic with him. When Luis called him, he'd told him about Ethan and where he was, Matt unlocked the safe under his desk and pulled out the dark weapon that sat next to his baseball card collection-- only the most important for the impenetrable protection. After all, it had taken him many years to track down the vintage cards of the entire White Sox team of 1916. If ever there was a fire in the building, Matt was sure that his cards would be safe. The way he saw it, screw the important legal documents everywhere; forget about the vital folders and files, all that mattered was his priceless stack of cards held in their plastic sheets.

On the helicopter, when Luis shouted about Theresa taking his gun, Matt seriously considered giving him his own gun but something inside stopped him. Now as he stood with the heavy steel in his hands ready for battle, he was thankful he listened. He needed it and Luis… well he had Mark. Besides, Matt liked the feeling of holding a gun. It made him feel powerful and in control. If he ran into Gwen, he'd point the gun at her tell her: "Just the facts, ma'am." _No, that wasn't it. _he thought. "Lower your weapon, miss." _That was it!_ Yes, he would square off with Gwen, look her in the eye and frighten her with his wild abandon and hauntingly evil stare… Matt to the rescue.

The day was in full approach now and even though he didn't feel like checking the watch he wore on his wrist, Matt was sure that it was approximately 9 a.m. or so. The birth of a new day was invigorating to Matt and he loved how the testosterone was flowing through his veins. He walked along the rear side of the cabin and he spotted a window with broken glass. Slowly smiling to himself, Matt readied his thoughts.

_This is it._ _No turning back…_

With a quick breath, Matt stood from his crouching position against the base of a tree and held the firearm in front of him, ready for anything. He reached the window and inched carefully around the broken shards on the grass below him. He couldn't cut up his shoes; not his new ones. He stepped slowly, closer to the window, and he winced when he heard a crack under his weight, hating the sound. He took one more quick look around him and pushed himself up and through the window, barely escaping the sharp edges of glass that had cut Luis' face. A simple rip etched across his jacket and he frowned when he was halfway through the window. Even though he made much effort to avoid any noise that might come from his entry, he didn't succeed. Matt's jacket rustled against the window panes and when his arms where through the window, he pulled himself into the room with his hands grasping at the flat floor.

* * *

Luis, Mark, Ethan, and Pilar all stood in the room, the latter two still in the caged prison in the middle of the room. It had been days since Ethan actually saw light and it hurt his eyes when Luis found a light switch near one of the doors. There was a simple light bulb on the ceiling but at least it wasn't complete darkness anymore. It took a few moments for Ethan and Pilar to adjust to the brightness but soon they were fine, their pupils shrinking to a normal size.

Mark kept lookout near one of the doors while Luis tried to figure out what was going on. Ethan explained what Gwen had said and done over the time he was there and it was then that he realized that he had no idea how long she had been keeping him.

"How long have I been here?" Ethan asked, breaking the conversation about Gwen.

Luis looked at Ethan, guilt and remorse for something he had nothing to do with overcoming his being. "Four days."

For some reason, emotion started creeping into his throat. The entire situation around him was closing in and it all started to feel more real to Ethan. He had gone over the incident in his mind hundreds of times and yet it had all just started to sink in. He really was inside of a human-made cage and there was nothing he could do about it.

"And Theresa…? How-how is she? Is she here?" Concern and hope pushed into his voice when he spoke of his wife. He'd give anything to know that she was away from Gwen and far from anything that she could inflict.

Luis didn't want to lie but he couldn't let his mother or his brother-in-law know of his own concern. It was bad enough that they were being held captive in a cage by a psychopath. They didn't need to be bothered with his own worries about Theresa. "She's… she's fine."

"Where is she?" Ethan pressed.

Tearing his eyes from Ethan and putting them to the floor, Luis again escaped the full truth. "She got here before we did." He knew that it still didn't answer Ethan's question as to her well being but he guessed that his half answer had sufficed for the moment; Ethan said nothing, his face full of worry for the woman that he knew would do anything that needed to be done. "But don't worry," Luis interrupted his thoughts. "She has my gun. She'll be fine. I mean… you know Theresa."

For a brief moment, Ethan smiled for the first time in a long time. He had almost forgot what happiness was for the time he had spent inside of the bar-crossed hell. Even though Ethan knew full well that when Theresa had her mind set to something, she wouldn't back down, and she wasn't exactly the easiest person to beat by any standards, it didn't exactly hold for physical confrontation; he knew that's exactly what would happen if Gwen found her. He just prayed that the noise he heard earlier wasn't what he feared. He couldn't bear to think of what Gwen would do to Theresa if it came to that.

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a strange noise, almost like an animal struggling to crawl through brick. It was like a scratching, a defeated attempt to claw at something and then a fierce scrape clattered with a hard thump. All of their attention made them turn to the open door in the room, the one leading to the bathroom that Luis and Mark had entered through. Mark, gun in hand, walked slowly over to the bathroom and waited for whatever assailant to show himself.

More noise continued and it was beginning to get quite annoying. Mark simply stepped into the doorway and found a struggling Matt trying to get his feet through the window while writhing on the floor and trying to escape the shattered glass. It was an almost laughable scene, something that commanded humor and pity for the embarrassing man. It was then that Matt realized that he was not alone. He tilted his head up and found familiar eyes staring at him. Without a word, it was as if he were given some kind of magical substance and he lifted himself from the floor without hesitation and brushed his shoulders, pushing the pain from his foot away so they wouldn't notice.

Luis watched from the side of the cage as Matt further proved himself to be unfit of any respect in his eyes and forced himself not to laugh, his own aggravation taking over him. "Matt…"

A dirty and tousled Matt walked through the bathroom, past Mark, and into the room with everyone staring at him. He did his best to pretend like that didn't just happen and looked around the room until he spotted Ethan.

"Ethan!" He walked to the cage and pulled on the bars. It wasn't long before he screamed out in a burning pain when the electricity shot at his palms. "Woh… what was that!"

"Sorry, Matt. Long story," Ethan informed.

"Matt, what the hell are you doing here?" Luis demanded.

Matt didn't listen and continued to stare at the bars and crossed metal in fascination. "Wow… who built this?" His eyes grew wide and he toured around it taking in all of the sides curiously. "Ethan, man, why didn't you tell me you had a little love prison!"

"I was kidnapped, Matt!" Ethan exclaimed.

It was almost scary how amazed Matt was with the cage, but then again, it was Matt. The very man that crawled through a window, face up and who had gotten his shoes stuck in a window pane. It didn't exactly say very much.

Luis noticed the gun in Matt's hand and suddenly anger grew inside of him. It was starting not to phase him when he got mad at Matt; it seemed all too natural. "Who's gun is that, Matt?" his high temper reflecting in the question.

"It's mine. Got a problem?" Luis said nothing and Matt continued to examine the fine handiwork that kept his partner behind bars.

"Luis, mijo," Pilar began, "is there a way to get us out of here?"

Luis looked over the cage up and down and pressed his mind to think of a way to turn off the electricity. The bars were all too close together somehow get inside the cage without touching them. He couldn't cut open the bars because any metal tool would buzz right through it into him. He had to hand it Gwen, she had definitely thought of the perfect prison. "I'm sorry, mama. I'm not sure yet."

"But there has to be a way," Ethan said desperately. His patience was way past its waning point and knowing that Theresa was in danger again was eating at him.

"How? The only way would be to get to Gwen and taking that remote. Otherwise… I have no idea."

Luis, Ethan, and Mark spoke of electrical things and possible ways to get them out and every option led to the same thing: It wouldn't work. Pilar watched Matt and she had to admit that she couldn't get over the dumbfounded look in the man's face. He had a strange look in his eyes and she couldn't see how he was Ethan's practicing partner. He looked anything but intelligent and he certainly didn't act it.

Matt circled the cage and he found a big white thing in the corner of the room. It intrigued him and he walked to it, Pilar's eyes still on him. As he got closer, he noticed that it was a white tarp over something. He was as curious as they came and it pushed him to see what was underneath. As he lifted the tarp, a crinkling noise went with it as it fell to the floor. Matt stood staring at a large black object and when he knelt next to it, he heard a soft noise, almost like a humming sound. It was doing something but he didn't know what. He studied the small machine and wondered what it could possibly be doing, and in that room no less. On the bottom, he noticed wheels and even lower was a black cord. His eyes followed it and it wound away a few feet and it ended at a wall… in a socket. The black machine was plugged in.

Pilar watched Matt and she too looked at the black thing on the floor. She had seen something similar to it once but she didn't know what it was then either. Hoping to figure it out, she stared at it and still listened to the men discuss ways out. Matt traced the cord up to the wall and he pulled. Suddenly, the room went black and the humming stopped.

"Oops…"

Luis spun and looked around. "Matt!"


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14_

Her body froze in shocking terror when she heard the sound of Gwen pulling the trigger. This time, Gwen's Russian Roulet wasn't off and the bullet escaped the chamber and flew into the open matter of the air. There was a small string of white smoke at the tip of the pistol and an unsatisfied looked passed over Gwen's face. In an unconscious stir for survival, Theresa had moved out of aim of the gun pointed at her, barely escaping the hard blow of bodily, and deadly, harm.

The bullet launched from Gwen's gun and flung past Theresa, skimming the empty space between her ear and the air only inches away. With a sharp ZRAN, the wall behind Theresa harbored a copper bullet and a hole butchered into the drywall, collapsing and sending pieces to the floor with flecks of white paint.

"You just had to move, didn't you?" Gwen's voice was harsh and the hatred was no longer maskable by her futile efforts. The very pulsation of her vocal cords just sent signals of loathing out through her throat. "Don't you know that this would all have been over if you just stood there…" Gwen's gun was low at her side and Theresa was thankful that yet again she had escaped unscathed.

Gwen not fully paying attention, Theresa took her moment to flee. Gwen, immediately, reacted and pulled her gun up and popped open the empty chamber. Quickly pulling out two bullets from her pocket, Gwen fixed them into their beds and pushed the gun closed with a run after Theresa.

They headed quickly into the front room that Theresa had entered through and ran past the sheet- covered furniture. Theresa scrambled around a coffee table and Gwen took her aim, pointing the gun and with a tight squeeze, the trigger fell back and the bullet plunged into Theresa's body with a harsh sound and penetrating pain. The shot pushed her to the floor, the gun in her hand flying into the air with the force ramming into her so quickly.

For a brief moment, a shocked Gwen stood motionless at the opposite side of the room from where Theresa was. She couldn't believe that she had finally done it. A deep sense of pride washed over her and she approached her nemesis who had fallen to the floor with the impact of the shot. There Theresa lay, her small body motionless and defeated and Gwen enjoyed the site of dark red liquid spilling from Theresa's shoulder. She hoped it caused the pain she imagined and more. After all, Theresa deserved it.

Stepping closer to the beaten Theresa, Gwen pressed her foot into Theresa's side and kicked her over onto her back, pain instantly shifting into Theresa's arm where her shoulder hit the floor. Theresa took in a soft breath, the expansion of her ribs pulsating somehow up into her arm, defeat overtaking her body.

"Why are you doing this?" A weak sound emerged from Theresa's lips. Energy was escaping her body quickly and her eyes fluttered open and shut, Gwen's vision above her slowly fading and reappearing. Everything around her seemed to be blurring and shifting in and out of focus. There was a hard weight over her right side and she could feel the warmth escaping her body, wet and spilling out her life behind her.

Gwen couldn't believe the question. Hadn't she figured it out yet? Her hateful stare seared into Theresa and it was as if her eyes, once brown, had lost all color and light and had gone completely black, losing the outline of her pupil within the darkness.

"Let's just say it's vengeance… for the life you stole from me." Her eyes were cold when she spoke, void of any feeling or remorse. "You know, Theresa, I should kill you. Just be done with it…." she said viciously while she knelt closer, the gun pointed at Theresa's forehead. "Just one shot and it would all be over for you…" Gwen was quiet and she contemplated seeing a dead Theresa before her. "But I won't. No… I think better to let you suffer the way you've made me suffer all these years. You can bleed to death for all I care. I won't kill you, not matter how much you're gonna want me to." A piercing stare reflected from her black heart and Gwen gave Theresa a last poignant smile before walking away.

Theresa's eyes were barely open as she watched Gwen turn from her and suddenly something inside of her burst. Ignoring the scorching pain in her shoulder and the frenzy of her nerves, Theresa quickly picked herself up and grabbed the gun that she had let fall across the floor when Gwen shot her. Her body had definitely taken the impact of the bullet and as she stood Theresa could feel her legs shaky with the innate bodily reaction for the need to survive. Swiftly, Theresa walked to her enemy and raised the gun high into the air, ready to strike. Gwen hadn't heard the sounds of Theresa's movement and as her mind wandered with happiness over the finale of Theresa's life, she was struck over the head.

Theresa had bashed the handle of the gun hard into Gwen's head, making Gwen hunch over as if she was pushed. The quick jerk reaction released the pistol in the blonde's hand, sending it spinning across the floor, far away for any more damage to be caused. It all happened so quickly that Theresa barely noticed the hand that was soon flying at her. Gwen launched her shoulder backward, slamming her hand across Theresa's cheek, slapping her face red.

The fight was on.

* * *

The room was dark, just as it had been when Ethan and Pilar were alone in their trapped universe. Matt had pulled a cord to some black unknown object and immediately all power in the room went out.

"Matt!" Luis yelled at him.

An embarrassed Matt looked apologetic and as if he had gotten caught with his hand in the forbidden cookie jar. He didn't answer Luis and when he caught his eye in guilt, he pointed to Pilar who was still locked inside the cage. Luis glared at a finger-pointing Matt realizing that the _genius_ lawyer had no idea that he was the one that held the electric cord dangling in his hand.

"Matt, what did you do?" An exasperated Ethan asked. He had definitely learned that Matt's gift was in the courtroom, and _only_ in the courtroom. His lack of knowledge in almost everything else practically made him a menace and at times, quite childish and ignorant.

He looked almost confused and bewildered when he answered Ethan's question. "I--I…," he stuttered, pointing quickly from his chest to the cable in his hand. "It just--" Luis yelled at him and told him to plug it back in seeing how it was the light power source of the room. Matt had heard what the lieutenant said but he didn't pay attention as he again stared at the mysterious object that he unplugged.

What was it?

Luis was losing his patience and when he spoke a second time to Matt and told him to replace the cord in the socket without a response, he'd had it. The singing had almost made him lose it on the way to the cabin but this was over the top. Breaking out into a random song could be understandable to a point. It was obviously a habit but to blur curiosity into stupidity went beyond Luis' tolerance and patience was no longer considered a virtue when it came to Matt. Pilar could see the fury behind Luis' eyes and while she understand it completely, she also had seen how truly interested Matt was and because she considered her own curiosity, she ran to the bars blocking her inside of the cage and urged at her son.

"Luis, don't--" It was then that she realized that even though the dark room was the same as before, there was something significantly different about it all. Sometimes it was hard to block herself and remember the fiery barrier. Her palms grasped two bars between her fingers when she pleaded with her son and it was then that she realized that nothing happened.

There was no spark; no burning; no electricity. There was nothing at all. Her hands felt as normal as ever and when Luis finally noticed the shocked look on his mother's face and her hands on the once-dangerous bars, he gasped. "Mama!" he cried. "You're-- you're touching the cage."

Pilar removed her hands and stared at them intently, inspecting them and wondering why she felt nothing. Could it be that the electric shocks flooding through the rough metal had finally ceased? Or was it that Gwen had finally pushed the little red button on the remote? Or perhaps, someone else…? Millions of possibilities were spreading throughout the room and everyone's attention was on the bars of the cage. It was odd how it suddenly didn't work anymore. And for a brief moment, it seemed that everyone in the room had suddenly lost a few brain cells and their capabilities to think about the entire situation in retrospect had suddenly died.

All hands were on the bars, inspecting and asking questions about it all. All hands except for Matt. He still held the dangling cord end in his hand and too wondered what was going on. He remembered what Luis had said and finally decided to abide. He moved closer to the socket and with a push, he pushed the prongs back into their respective holes and it was then that he regretted it.

Everyone else in the room jumped and screamed when the flashing, burning sensation flooded their nerves. Palms blazed in pain and the purple-white electric marks were once again stemming over the black, welded monstrosity. The single light bulb overhead flickered back to life, illuminating the room with a brightness that helped them all see a little better. Once again the subtle humming returned to the room and Matt pressed his hearing closer to the big thing next to him and wondered why it was making that sound. Again Luis yelled at him and cursed him for being so stupid.

"Didn't you see us touching the damned thing! We were right there, Matt!" It seemed to be a never ending cycle between Matt and Luis. Matt screws up, Luis yells a lot.

Matt looked hurt and disoriented at the same time when Luis' bellows reached him in the corner. He stood from his crouch on the floor and tried not to listen to the insults coming from Luis. "Luis, wait," Ethan began. When Luis turned his attention to the half naked Ethan in the cage, Matt seemed relieved. "Matt, take it out."

"Huh?" The quick change in subject confused Matt and he stood there with the same look on his face that didn't seem to leave. "Take what out where?" Luis rolled his eyes.

"Take out the plug." Ethan was on to something and slowly, Matt did what he was told. The room went dark again and the sound stopped. A soft thump filled their ears when Matt dropped the cord to the floor and stood to watch Ethan's next move. All eyes were on the him as he lifted his hands back to the cage and grasped the bars between his hands. Ethan grasped around the solid bars as his thumbs curled onto his fingers. Everyone waited for the usual painful and screaming reaction to accompany his touching the electric cage. There was none.

The electricity was off.

Immediately, Ethan let go and turned to Matt. "Plug it back in." Keeping his distance, Ethan still watched the bars in front of him intently when Matt connected the cord back into the electric port. He saw the white veins flow through and the light above him sputtered on. Mark looked from Luis to Matt to Ethan and then back to Luis, silently asking for answers. Luis was just as confused and Matt couldn't possibly be more lost. Pilar was the only other one that had figured it out as a brazen smile slid across Ethan's face.

"That's it," he said, figuring out the solution to their dilemma.

"Of course!" Pilar exclaimed as she walked towards her cellmate. "It's a generator."

"Mama, what are you talking about?"

Pilar excitedly turned to her son, happy to explain. "That thing," she pointed out the mysterious black object in the corner next to Matt, "is a generator. It produces electricity when you plug it in."

"Yeah," Ethan chimed in. "They're used for emergencies, power outages, alternate electric sources really. The only thing I can't figure out is…." he walked from his place at one side of the cage to the corner and looked up and around any opening he could, still keeping his distance. Sure enough, there were four electric cords leading from the top of the cage to the four corners and down the spines to the floor where they traced around to the generator where it was all connected. He had wondered how Gwen managed to electrically charge the synthetic cell and now it was all so clear.

"Matt," Ethan said again, turning his attention back down from the spiraling twine above him. "Unplug it again."

"But I thought you said--" he contested.

"Matt, just do it!" Luis scolded. Agitated and tossing his head back and forth in annoyance, Matt crouched back down and did as he was asked, unplugging the generator and sending the room back into darkness.

"Hey, Luis!" Ethan called.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how to pick locks?" The cage might have been benign now but it was still locked and they were still trapped inside. The bars were starting to haunt and there was only so much blackness and confinement one could take.

Luis had already figured out what Ethan meant when he asked the question and took out his lock pick from his pocket as he walked to the front of the cage where Gwen had once entered her key. A sharp object went straight in first and then Luis used a small hook-like instrument. He jumbled around and after a smooth turn, the lock clicked open.

They were free.

They didn't need any goading from anyone and Pilar and Ethan practically raced out of their confinement. She ran quickly into her son's arms and he held her tightly, grateful that he was holding her at all. When Theresa had first told him about what happened between Pilar and Gwen, Luis was fearful that he would never see his mother again.

"All right, Matt," Ethan said as he closed the door to the miserable cage that held him for many days, "turn it back on." With a slow push, Matt illuminated the room and the buzzing sounded again, telling everyone to stay away from the cage. As everyone was relishing in their recent accomplishment, the next sound they heard wasn't joyous or happy but it filled all of their hearts with dread and fear.

It was an empty sound, bland and yet so full of meaning when it fell upon their ears. It was one of the most unmistakable sounds in the world and even though one may not have heard it before, they all knew that it was the sound that only a gun could make when it was fired.

It was.

The loud shot crashed into the empty air and resonated throughout the room. Ethan's heart immediately stopped and the sound could only mean one thing for him: because of him, a woman was going to die. Terror was all around them now and Matt suddenly had the urge to grab onto to someone tightly.

Pilar's fearful eyes wandered around the room and met Ethan's, passing him the same scared feeling that he felt. Luis reacted just as a cop would and started giving orders on what to do. "Mark, I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, anything." Mark was worried but he also knew that it was his job and this was all far beyond a regular stakeout. It had just blown up to complete gunfire warfare.

"I want you to take my mother out to the helicopter and keep her safe. Can you do that for me?" Mark nodded and walked over to Pilar in a protective stance. "Ethan, you and Matt follow Mark and I'm gonna go look for Gwen so--"

"No!" Ethan protested. "No, I'm not going anywhere! That's my wife in there and I'll be damned if I leave her now!"

Luis saw the determination in Ethan's eyes and he saw something else: love. There was always something between his sister and the man that stood before him, he knew. Some kind of connection that neither could fight nor deny and yet, it was one of the most compelling and magical things he'd ever witnessed.

"Please, Luis," Ethan begged. This was too important for him to let it go; especially his family.

Luis eyed Ethan for several moments, debating over what to do. One thing was for certain, they were all worried about Theresa and all wanted to get to her. Only one thing mattered. It didn't matter how but just as long as they got to her in time… if only it wasn't too late by then. Quickly shaking his head with his thoughts, Luis looked back up to his pleading brother-in-law and nodded in approval. "Okay. Mark, you take Mama out to the chopper. I'll go around the perimeter and get in through the front door. Ethan, you can go through inside and see if you can find Theresa and Gwen." It was then that he realized that there was still one other person and he dreaded even having to address him: Matt.

"What about me?" an inquisitive Matt asked with a curious face.

Luis let out a harsh breath and turned back to Ethan, speaking and asking him at the same time. "Matt, you go with Ethan…" He seemed grateful to get some kind of important duty rather than watching the helicopter-- that was boring. He wanted part of the action. Ethan nodded when Luis spoke, accepting the invitation and waited for the next move to be made. Time was running short and Mark and Pilar had already crawled through the window in the bathroom. Luis was about to follow when he turned back to Ethan. "Ethan," he called, "protect my sister."

Ethan and Luis shared the same shielding stare. "With my life." With that, Ethan and Luis took their separate ways on their own mission. Luis had taken Mark's gun and crawled out through the window, readying himself for whatever may come his way. Ethan, on the other hand, had no weapon nor did he care for one. As soon as Luis was out of the room, he and Matt followed their adrenaline into the danger that lie ahead. Only one thing mattered now: Theresa.

* * *

Almost as if in a kickboxing match, the two women were fighting ferociously. Gwen passed Theresa a vicious right hook that landed on her cheek and the gun that she held in her hand went flying across the room, well out of sight--both a good and bad thing. Theresa struggled to plant several hits on Gwen and she only managed a few. Her shoulder was on fire and every move she made only increased the temperature, scorching the muscles and bones in her arm with an invisible inferno.

As Gwen struck Theresa with her fist again, Theresa fell to the floor on her injured arm, the scream of pain loud and piercing. Gwen smiled to herself and wiped her lip to check for blood as she crouched over Theresa again. Her hands clasped around Theresa's throat, clenching tightly and chocking the air from her lungs. The idea of letting Theresa simply bleed to death had been discarded when Gwen knew that she couldn't trust Theresa with such a task; she had proven to fight back and it would be to her death.

Writhing in fear and fight, Theresa clawed her nails into Gwen's arms and used every amount of force she could to release herself from the suffocating grasp. A few gasping breaths left Theresa's mouth and Gwen was getting tired of the flailing attempts. Still holding onto her throat with one hand, Gwen punched hard into Theresa's wounded shoulder and Theresa screamed fiercely again, her body almost going into shock when the pain soared through her nerves. Countless ideas to get loose were flooding Theresa's mind and none seemed to work as the adrenaline dashed through her veins with the instinct to fight for survival. There was no more oxygen in her lungs and suddenly Theresa's knee bucked upwards and pushed itself into Gwen's thigh with a bruising force that escalated into a trivial limp.

The kick to her sciatic nerve sent Gwen toppling to the floor and setting Theresa free. Her lungs gulped in air and her throat was bruised with finger marks. The fall may have put distance between the two women but it wasn't to last. As soon Gwen hit the floor, smashing her forehead into the hardwood, she turned over in an instant with even more fury than she once had. She launched herself at Theresa again, trying to grab her throat and Theresa fought back, scratching and punching whenever she could. Gwen pushed Theresa into the wall from behind and Theresa's elbow plunged back into Gwen's ribs with a crack. As Gwen fell to her knees, Theresa kicked her in the stomach and as she made to kick again, Gwen grabbed her foot and Theresa slipped to the floor, landing on her back.

Her reaction was as smooth and as swift as that of a cat when Gwen lifted herself from the floor and stepped on top of her enemy. Gwen's heel kicked at Theresa's shoulder and tears fell from Theresa's eyes as she yelled in agony. The bullet between her scapula and pectoral danced around and pressed against fibers of her build, scratching in pain and tearing at nerves. Barely escaping Gwen from sitting on top of her again, Theresa rolled away from the crazy woman and got to her feet just in time to avoid a punch from Gwen's fist. Gwen tried again and knocked Theresa down, falling along with her. Theresa fell chest down and as she looked up she saw the dark weapon glinting at her.

Gwen stood from her fall and was ready to jump on top of Theresa when suddenly she turned with a gun pointed at her chest. "Don't!" Theresa yelled, shaking in fear.

Gwen immediately stopped, a smile hiding her panic. Theresa held the gun in her right hand and her left took over as she shakily pushed back hair from her face. As both of her hands grasped the gun, she slowly stood from the floor, not taking her aim off of Gwen. Her eyes were wide as she stared at her nemesis and her body took in unsteady breaths as she realized the moment surrounding her.

Gwen's head fell back in an evil laugh as she watched the terrified Theresa slowly inch towards her, gun in hand. "Gonna shoot me now?" Gwen's playful eyes seemed to mock Theresa as she walked closer still. "Come on. I _dare _you." Theresa wasn't in the mood for Gwen's dares and her anger and fear built up together as one that made the situation more intense. Theresa had gotten close enough to Gwen and she pressed the gun against her temple, wanting nothing more than to finally end the whole thing: one squeeze and it would all be over.

"WOO!" Gwen squealed with mock thrill. "C'mon, Theresa! Do it! Pull it! Pull it! PULL IT!"

The emotional torrent running through Theresa only made it that much harder and in her rage, she pulled back the hammer with her hand and pushed the tip of the gun harder into Gwen's forehead. "Shut up! Just shut up!" She hadn't realized that she was crying until she spoke and tasted the salty tears on her lips. "No, Gwen-- YOU WILL _NEVER _HURT ME OR MY FAMILY _EVER_ AGAIN! EVER!"

Gwen smiled again. "You can't do it, can you?"

Theresa held the gun between her palms and she was shaking as tears racked her body with emotional agony. The time had come and she couldn't do it. Gwen's evil smile was glaring at her and she had all the power in the world. She held the gun in her hand, she was the one that could end it all… and she couldn't do it.

"You know, Theresa, you will never be rid of me. It's already over. Ethan, how could he ever love anyone that was too weak to do what was needed? And Little Ethan… well, you'll never find him. You're life is over, Theresa, and you still can't do anything about it, can you?"

Theresa swallowed hard and tightened her grasp on the gun between her hands. She was crying and shaking and she wished she could summon the courage for what she needed to do. "Where's my son?" Gwen laughed again, taunting with contentment and not answering the question that was posed of her. "_Where _is he!" Theresa pressed the gun harder into Gwen's head, cocking it to the side. Gwen still said nothing and Theresa had now realized that the animal within was born and her finger was a muscle short of pulling the trigger when she was interrupted.

Ethan and Matt burst into the room, glad to see Theresa alive, but they stopped feet away from the women when they realized the situation in front of them. Gwen was kneeling next to a standing Theresa who had a gun in her hand. Gwen's life literally rested in Theresa's hands.

"Oh, my, God! Theresa!" Ethan cried. Theresa looked at him with a tearstained face and she shook when she turned to him and then back to Gwen in front of her. "Theresa, no! You can't!"

Theresa stared at Gwen as she spoke. "I have to, Ethan… I have to…" Her words were slow and carried a sound of crying and anguish.

"Please, Theresa…." Ethan tried. "Just-- just think about this. Think about what you're doing." His hands were reached out in an attempt to calm her and he was as scared as she was. He looked at Gwen and she seemed to be pleased with herself. She knelt before Theresa and said nothing with a simple smile across her face. "Theresa, please, honey, put the gun down…"

"No, I can't!" she screamed. "She'll kill me if I don't! She'll kill you! She'll kill Little Ethan and Mama! NO! I have to, Ethan! This is the only way…" Tears were falling down her face quickly and her body was shaking as anger, rage, love, hate, adrenaline, and fear pulsed through her body.

Gwen was enjoying what she saw and she took pleasure in seeing the pain she was causing Theresa with the demise. "Do it, Theresa! Do it! I dare you! C'mon! C'mon! Pull the trigger! DO IT!"

"Theresa, don't," Ethan said softly. The concern in his voice was unmistakable and he prayed with everything in him that she would listen.

"Pull the trigger! C'mon!" Gwen taunted again.

"AHHHHHH!" Theresa screamed as she pulled her hands to her head and stomped in frustration. Demons were mocking her and she didn't know what to do. Voices were saying one thing, she was saying another, Gwen was telling her what to do, and Ethan was begging her. The dormant animal inside of her was fully alive now and she had to fight for herself and for her family.

_This was the only way. _

"What's the matter, Theresa?" Gwen asked sarcastically. "Can't do it, can you?" She waited for an answer even though she knew she wouldn't get one. "Of course not. It's always the same with you, Theresa. You don't do what you need to. Just like that night at your house. You needed to fight; fight for yourself, for your family, for your child and you let me beat you plain and simple. It couldn't have been any easier. You didn't want to fight. You wanted me to kill your baby, didn't you?"

"SHUT UP!" Theresa yelled at her. Her eyes were spilling tears extremely fast.

"No, Theresa. You know it's true." Gwen spoke with such and extreme calm that it was chilling. "You let me beat you that night. You didn't care about anyone but yourself."

That was it for Theresa. Her wrists aimed the gun and with a loud shot, the bullet was fired…


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

It smashed into the wall with a crash, exploding with a small puff and loud noise. Theresa's heartbeat had quickened and she suddenly felt short of breath when she realized what she had just done. When she pulled the trigger back, the force pushing through the metal jerked Theresa's hand back and now she held the gun shakily, even more so than before. Ethan and Matt stared in shock at Theresa, hoping that they had really seen that bullet shoot into the wall rather than into Gwen.

Gwen had shut her eyes closed in terror when she actually believed that Theresa had pulled the trigger for a reason. As she opened her eyes again to look around her, she had concluded wrong. The gun was still in her face and the smell of gunpowder filled her nostrils. The gun had been fired, yes, but just not at her.

"The next one will be in your head if you don't shut up!" Theresa yelled.

Gwen smirked at her with a strange assurance. "You couldn't do it anyway."

Rage flowed through her veins as never before and she took Gwen's comment as an invitation. With steady hands, Theresa removed one hand from the gun and pulled back the tail at the end before returning her grasp back. "Try me." Her teeth were clenched as she spoke and the look in her eye was one that Gwen had never seen; it was solid and prepared, burning and vengeful.

Ethan followed everything with his eyes, his stare tracing over both women whenever they spoke. Matt, when he heard the sound of gun fire in close proximity, pulled himself to a wall and covered his head with his arms as if he were under attack from the Commies.

The two women held the long stare without blinking, fear suddenly creeping into Gwen's eyes. For several minutes all Ethan could think about was the gun in Theresa's hands and soon he noticed a thin trail of red veining down her arm. Her adrenaline may have kept her in the fiery moment but Theresa's strength was waning as she stood with her arms outstretched. It completed Ethan's worst fear as he realized that the shot he'd heard earlier had indeed penetrated Theresa, bleeding from her body.

"Do it, Theresa." Gwen finally spoke. "I dare you. Come on, do it."

Ethan's eyes immediately shifted from Theresa's arm, to her gun-filled hands, to her face. "Theresa… no! Don't do it… It's--it's not worth it." She said nothing and kept her hateful eyes on her adversary. "Don't… if you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Don't let her ruin your life, Theresa… Don't give her that satisfaction… Please…"

Theresa had heard what her husband said and turned to him shakily. "I have to-- I have to!" she uttered quickly.

"No-- no, you don't. Just… C'mon, Theresa, give me the gun…" He took a few small steps toward her with his palm outstretched. "C'mon… Theresa…," he begged her, "give it to me… you don't want to do this…" Ethan's palm was right next to her and she took quick glances from his hand to Gwen's mocking face. Theresa exhaled and she pressed her thumbs down on the hammer. After she let a million milliseconds fly by, she pushed the trigger to safety and slowly handed the firearm into Ethan's hand.

She stared at it in wonder, not believing that she'd let go and she turned her crying-faced look to her husband that she hadn't seen in days. It was then that she broke down and fell into his comforting arms. As he wrapped his arms around her, the actuality of the moment made him lose focus and the gun in his hand dropped to the floor with a clang.

He was relieved to hold her again and the world around him seemed to stand still-- just as it always had when she was near. Theresa's weak body was against his and she hugged him, the blood that had spilled from her shoulder to her hand staining his back. He held his wife tightly and pulled her body close to his, grateful to feel her once again.

Fury raced in Gwen's veins as she watched Ethan and Theresa before her. Her stomach tightened with bile and she felt sickened. _It shouldn't be that way. Theresa couldn't win again! No!_ She wouldn't let her win again. Her knee caps began to feel the heaviness of gravity pulling at her weight and she then noticed that the gun that Theresa once held was on the floor… directly in front of her.

Gwen stared at Ethan and Theresa again; they were holding each other and Theresa's loud cries were muffled into Ethan's shoulder. He stroked her hair, almost savoring her feel forever and he closed his eyes and thanked god for bringing her back to him. Gwen smirked and glared at the beckoning pistol left alone on the floor. It called to her and made her eyes large with sparkling plot. Taking another glance at the couple, Gwen turned to the gun and quickly reached for it. Matt watched her from the other side of the room and he watched in horror as she grabbed for the gun and without hesitation, without thinking, Matt reached for the gun that he had tucked behind his back.

Only fractions of milliseconds passed when Gwen began to take her aim at Theresa. Matt's heart stopped and it all happened so fast that he barely had the time to say anything. As Gwen put her finger to the trigger, Matt pointed and fired, hoping against all hope that he aimed correctly and shot in time.

Theresa jumped in Ethan's arms as the loud bang filled his ears. Panic filled his body and something inside of him knew something was wrong. Slowly, he opened his eyes, terrified of what he would find. Theresa's terrified eyes looked up at him and his breathing suddenly stopped.

_This couldn't be happening. _He couldn't lose her.

It took no more than a brief moment before Gwen fell to the floor, the gun falling along with her. Matt still held the gun in the firing position and Gwen's mouth was beginning to spill red. The bullet was shot into her chest, breaking through her sternum, shattering two ribs, and then finally puncturing her lung and bleeding into her tissue-- irreparable damage. She was motionless on the floor, the shock of the impact sending her body into slight twitches and the pain not allowing her to move voluntarily.

Gwen's body fell at a weird angle: her feet supported her fall from her kneeling position, twisting her hips and knees to the side and her back fell to the floor with one arm beneath. The bright red blood beginning to drip from her mouth was a surreal contrast to the pale tone her skin had become with her anger and the lack of sunlight over the past few days with her captives. Ethan and Theresa stared down at her and noticed that her mouth was moving, uttering something. Theresa was terrified as she and Ethan inched closer to listen. They heard her last words and suddenly wished they hadn't. "I did this… did this… for… for you… Ethan…. I… did this for you…." And with a last breath, her life was gone. A frigid figure lay there, open eyes and a haunting stare leaving her soulless face.

Gwen's last statement replayed in Ethan's mind like a never ending track of haunting voice and recorded words. Everything she'd done, everyone she'd hurt, had all been in the name of Ethan. The very thought made Ethan sick to his stomach. All of the pain that Gwen had caused had been in his name and it hurt him beyond words. It felt the same when he thought of the people that caused terror in the name of god and only destroyed lives in the process. None of it made any sense and he only blamed himself for everything that his loved ones had gone through at her hands.

Guilt washed over Theresa with a powerful force and the tears that she'd cried began to pour out with twice as much vigor. Ethan pulled Theresa to his body, holding her close to him. "It's over… It's over now…" Her tear-racked body sobbed into him and he cursed himself for what he felt responsible for.

Glad to have his wife holding him rather than laying in front of him dead, Ethan looked down at Gwen, not taking his eyes from the face that he'd once looked upon with hope, with happiness, with love. There was an ironic calm about him as he stared up on the woman lying dead before him. Theresa was safe in his arms and it was all finally over. Matt cowered in the corner, amazed at what he'd just done and with a quick glance from Ethan, his guilt rapidly passed. Theresa was alive and as he looked on the couple, a sense of the miraculous filled his heart. Maybe it was all supposed to happen as it did; as Theresa always claimed: Fate.

Theresa didn't realize how tightly she was holding her husband until he pulled back. His hand took her face and he stared into the eyes he thought he'd never see again. She was still crying fiercely and his thumbs quickly wiped the silky tears away.

"It's okay…" his voice was consumed with concern. "She's gone."

Theresa's heart was still pounding in her chest and something inside of her didn't want to believe that Ethan was in front of her-- where she'd imagined him being only hours before. His stare was always the same and even now it held all of the familiar elements that could calm the inadequate quakes of her soul. Emotion poured from his gaze and captivated her with worry, love, and every aspect of his soul. Everything around her seemed to blur and she only allowed herself to be pulled into his gaze. Ethan's heart broke as he noticed so much pain wavering through his wife.

She kept his look and his thumb traced over her cheek, it finally hit as hail hits stone. Her mind spun and her eyes closed as she tried to focus herself. An unsteady pose sent her on a dizzy fall forward.

"Woh, Theresa…" Ethan caught her in his arms. "What's--what's wrong?" Panic crept into his voice. She took in a breath and steadied herself upright carefully. Ethan's arms circled her in concern. "What's the matter?"

A sickening dread pulsed through her quickly as she pushed the spinning feeling from her body. "Um… yeah- yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "I'm just… a little… tired." Ethan knew her tone. It was the same one she used when Little Ethan asked if she was sick: a sound of regret and feigned truth in her voice.

"Are you--" Ethan's hand suddenly felt the thick fluid on her back. His fingers traced over the crimson stain. She winced when his touch hit her overly sensitive nerves upon her fresh wound. "Oh, Theresa--"

"I'm fine. I'll be okay." He stared at her, looking for a quizzical sign and finally gave her an approving smile, hoping she was right. Theresa's stubbornness hadn't gone undiminished in her trials of life and death.

Ethan stared at his wife for a long time, not sure if he didn't want to believe she was before him or if he didn't want to believe she wasn't. Everything around him would definitely leave its mark upon their lives and Gwen's last words still haunted him. He would never be able to forget what she said and he would never be able to escape their meaning.

_All because of him. _

With a quick exhale, Ethan wiped away another tear and pushed his own demons from his mind. Theresa was more important now. She was dizzy and he knew how much blood someone could lose from their arm. She definitely wasn't fine and besides, a separated shoulder could be life threatening if untreated. He wasn't taking any chances, especially not after almost losing her already-- more than once. "C'mon, let's get out of here." Theresa nodded in approval and they and Matt decided to leave the horrifying chapter for later.

Matt was still shaking as he watched Ethan and Theresa head for the front door of the house. It was a deafening silence around him and something inside of him could only be relieved. He had saved a life-- two actually-- for without Theresa, Ethan would surely cease to exist. As Ethan had said, it was over now. It was time to move on and as he'd noticed, the important thing at the moment was helping Theresa.

* * *

Ethan's eyes blinked and squinted as he and Theresa opened the front door of the cabin. The natural daylight filled with essential rays hadn't touched Ethan's eyes in days. Theresa took his hand, eager to touch him after so long, and led him through the doorway and out onto the front steps. They were not outside for thirty seconds when a twist came that neither expected. 

They walked out into the light from the dark shelter that would always symbolize more than a retreat. As Theresa took Ethan's hand when his eyes could barely stay open, he felt her fingers shaking. He knew better than to say anything but it was scaring him. Her face had gone pale and the red on her shirt and arm proved that she wasn't fine as she claimed. Ethan suddenly stopped, pulling Theresa back and spoke. "Theresa--"

But he wasn't able to finish his sentence….

* * *

She was crouched in the bushes, low and annoyed by the sound of the crickets around her. Small winged bugs were flying over her head and buzzing in her ears. Still, as she was angry and flustered, it would not get in the way of what she was supposed to do. The long rifle in her hand would be her link to her daughter's goal. 

The door crept open slowly and she had a clear vision. First a man came through and then… there _she _was. A wicked smile pulled at her lips when she realized the woman's fate rested in her very hands. Without another thought, she took aim.

* * *

Ethan opened his mouth to address his wife and as soon as he said her name, a loud noise resonated though the open air and before he could think of what it could possibly be, she fell into his arms, defeated. 

Rebecca aimed the long rifle and pulled the trigger with only too much excitement. The strong bullet propelled into her with a shattering power. Theresa fell into her husband's arms, falling to the ground in weakness. Ethan suddenly froze as he looked at her. A large, deep red circle was carved into her upper abdomen, the sight freezing Ethan in panic. He swallowed hard as he looked down upon her. He didn't know what to think, he didn't know what to believe. He heard the shot and he saw the blood but he couldn't connect the two.

_Theresa had been shot._

"Oh, GOD!" Ethan yelled. He crouched close to Theresa and traced her face, not knowing what to do. "Theresa!" She didn't answer and her eyes looked up at him. He feared the worse and couldn't think straight. "MATT!" Ethan screamed. Matt immediately appeared at the door. "Call 911! HURRY!" Stiffened in disbelief, Matt ran to do what he was told. Ethan stayed by Theresa, telling her that she would be fine. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay. You just-- just… you'll be fine."

"Ethan…" her voice no higher than a whisper.

"No, shh… save your strength, okay? We just-- we have to wait for the paramedics to get here."

Theresa could feel the numbing sensation wash over her body and tears were in her eyes when she realized exactly what was happening. She knew Ethan could tell as well and he was simply trying to convince himself otherwise. The only thing was that neither of them had a say anything. It was all in the hands of another and it seemed to be pulling Theresa's life away.

She mustered all the strength she could and passed him the only smile she could summon. "I love you, Ethan…."

Terror overcame him and the tears building up were falling freely. "No, don't you dare, Theresa! No, don't say your goodbyes! You hear me! Theresa!" She was trying to stay conscious and her body was beginning to shut down. "Come on, Theresa. Please!"

It hurt her to hear the emotion in his voice and the tears in her eyes fell silently as she suppressed her own guilt and feelings of failure. "I'm sorry…"

"Shh… you're gonna be fine! You hear me!" He was crying harder. "Hang on… just hang on…" Ethan's sobs were louder and he tried to push away his tears to stay strong for her sake.

Theresa tried to believe him but her heart was telling her differently. She could feel what was happening and it scared her beyond belief. She couldn't possibly leave yet. She had so much to do, so many people that she loved. "Take… take care of Little Ethan for me…." she muttered.

"No… Theresa… Theresa…?" Her eyes were fluttering open and closed and she tried her best to keep her focus on Ethan. Hard steps sounded as they were approaching and Luis, Mark, and Pilar came running.

"We heard a shot. What happened!" Luis cried.

Pilar was the first of the group to see Theresa in Ethan's arms and to notice the blood that covered her body. "THERESA!" Luis was quick to fall to his sister and everything that they'd all gone through now seemed insignificant. Mark came running with a vehicle riding behind him. It was a large white and red ambulance that he had taken the liberty to call as soon as he'd gotten back to the helicopter with Pilar.

Ethan looked from the truck to Theresa and tried to smile at her. "You're gonna be all right." She swallowed, trying not to tell him what she was certain he knew by now. It was too late. Tears approached again and Ethan gently kissed her lips, savoring the way they felt-- it would perhaps be the last one they'd ever share…

The paramedics no sooner stopped the truck when they jumped out and immediately picked up Theresa and carried her into the van. Pilar ran into it with them and as they quickly hooked her up to machines. He vaguely heard numbers and blood pressure, the words, "a lot of blood", "doesn't look good", and "poor girl" as they closed the back doors.

The loud siren began and Ethan watched the ambulance drive away with the person he loved most in the world. He wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again and the thought ate at him like a parasite. He stood from his crouch and pinched his eyes, trying in vain to control the tears that kept flowing. Luis patted his shoulder and he surveyed the area with teary eyes. That's when he saw her: Rebecca Hotchkiss.

Rebecca made eye contact with the cop she'd always tried to land. At first, she wasn't sure what to think of his stare but as he started running for her, she dropped the rifle and began running away from him, a thought she'd never imagined possible. Luis chased her around the house and she broke a heel as she managed to get in through the back door. As she cursed her lost Gucci shoe, she glanced back and saw a charging Luis coming towards her. It was a sight she'd always wanted, but the look on his face was different of that which she'd pictured.

The pounding of Luis' feet made Rebecca run faster and she thanked the gorgeous trainer she saw three times a week for her momentum. She found the back door and with a faulty stop, she pulled the door open and thrust herself into the confines of walls and brick. Luis watched her go in and wanted to much to shoot his gun. As he lifted to aim, the door closed behind the redhead and he ran faster. The two dashed through the house, knocking down a few expensive items on their chase. Rebecca ran into a door and tried to open it only to find it locked and unwilling to let her in. Trying her luck again, she pressed on another door and she ran inside. With no time to lock the door, Rebecca ran around the room, looking for a couch to hide behind, a bed to go under, a chest to sit next to… nothing. There was nothing in the room but a large black sculpture and she made her way inside, closing the gate behind her. She looked around and slightly found herself amused when she realized that she was inside of a cage- a love prison. It excited her and made her smile. Now if only Luis could come in with her.

Her thoughts were heard as the angry cop raced into the room and pointed his gun at her. Rebecca cried for her life and immediately began begging. Luis didn't hear of it and instead kept his gun at the cocked level. His anger and hatred blurred his mind momentarily to his surroundings.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" Rebecca begged as she crouched to the floor. "I'm too good in bed to die!"

"Shut up, Rebecca!" Luis' hands were steady as he pointed his weapon at her. All his training, all his time at the station had taken him to this point and there was no way that he was going to let it go now. Rebecca would pay for what she and her daughter did to his sister. Luis had run into the room so suddenly that he didn't think to look around him. All he saw was a cowered woman huddled in the corner with her hands above her head. His eye caught the black bars around her and suddenly, he realized that he was in the room where his mother and Ethan were kept.

_Perfect,_ he thought.

Quickly, Luis made his way to the side of the room where the generator was and he plugged it back in, exciting the electricity to life. Rebecca didn't know what he was doing and as she backed up against a bar to hide, she found out. The spark burned her with a sizzle and she cried out in pain.

"Turn it off!" she demanded. Luis didn't answer her or heed her request. Instead, he holstered the gun and stared at her.

She begged and begged and even offered him some of her special services if he let her go. He stood, disgusted, and could only think to look away for fear of her further embarrassment. "Please, Luis! You can't leave me in here! I'll do whatever you want! I swear! Anything you want! If you're into costumes, I'm your girl!"

Luis scoffed again. "Shut up!" His hand went to the gun at his side again. His motion shut her mouth and all she could do was stare at him in fear. "Where's my nephew?"

Rebecca seemed to be puzzled by his question. "What?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know, Rebecca! Where is Little Ethan!" Luis had to admit that her reaction scared him.

"I thought… isn't he with Ethan?"

"No, Rebecca! Where is he!" Luis was both terrified and furious now. He couldn't decide if Rebecca was playing coy or if she really didn't know, which would only mean one thing; no one but Gwen knew where the little boy was.

"If I tell you, will you let me out of here?" A sultry smile was on her face and he could see the practiced look of desire in her eyes as she approached closer.

"Depends… where is he?" She was trying his patience and he couldn't take being much more calm.

"Gwen said she brought him here…" Rebecca's hungry eyes were already tracing Luis' body.

Luis stared at her and realized that she really didn't know. A lust-filled Rebecca was coming closer and Luis turned away. He walked out of the room, careful to lock the door after him.

* * *

Ethan felt dead. Everything around him had to have been a dream. He couldn't believe what had just happened in his life and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that none of it could be real. It had to be fake. He was sleeping, he was sure. But… he realized that he wasn't waking up and he was indeed living the horror story he prayed he wasn't. He had been kidnapped, his son was missing, his unborn child was gone, and his wife… she was leaving him and there was nothing he could do about it but blame himself. 

He stared out at the forest surroundings of the cabin and noticed Theresa's car in the driveway. It was the same car she drove always and it only hit him harder when he thought of her possibly dying… without him… because of him. Every thought he had of her sliced at his soul and he wished he could make the pain stop. He was sure he was going to fall over in his cries. Never before had so much pain overcome his body that he was almost frozen and overwhelmed by anguish.

Theresa's car, he noticed, had a white square in the dashboard and he took it upon himself to look closer. It was an envelope… addressed to him. Again tears streamed down his face and something struck him heavily when he saw the enclosed letter.

_She knew…_

The window was open and Ethan reached in to grab the letter. He stared at his name in her handwriting for a long time, trying to decide if he should read it or not. There was so much conflicting emotion in his mind that he wasn't sure of much anymore. He turned the envelope over and noticed the flap sticking up, calling for him to read the letter.

And so, breaking his own heart, he read…

Dear Ethan,

If you're reading this, it must mean that I was right. I was right about knowing that Gwen was pointing me here. All of her clues and riddles led me here to you. But if you're reading this, I was right when I knew that Gwen wouldn't let me go alive. So much has happened in the time that we've known each other. And for that, I apologize. We met, fell in love, and learned the meaning of it all. But in that time, I've been like a poison. Your life has been turned upside down more than once because of me and I'm sorry for everything. Just know that if you're reading this that I tried. I wanted nothing more than to get to you and hopefully I did. But maybe Gwen was too much for me. I never wanted this to happen but I did it to save you. You and Little Ethan mean the world to me and I couldn't let Gwen hurt you.

I leave you for heaven or hell if that is where I'm meant to go. You have my heart and give yourself no blame. Nothing will ever be the same. Gwen has taken so much. Ethan, you once said that you wanted nothing more than to be with our family. Gwen took that too. My struggle with her the other day was deadly. I was pregnant… Pregnant with your child. A woman knows when she's pregnant and I could tell weeks ago. She was a girl. I know it and I can feel it in my heart. She would have been our little girl, our princess. But Gwen took her away from us. I'm sorry, Ethan. Please take care of Little Ethan and tell him what his mother was like and please let him know that I loved him more than my own life. Tell him to always wish upon stars and teach him to believe in Fate.

I will always love you, Ethan. None but you. Just know that our love will bring us together again… one day.

Love Forever,

Theresa

Ethan looked up from the letter and could no longer fight the tears that had been welling since the first word. His head fell and agony racked his soul and released all grief. She was really gone…. He had never felt so alone as he did now and he couldn't help but blame himself. Wiping his eyes, Ethan looked up from the letter again and caught the sky in sight. Again, the tears returned. The sky was beautiful. There was something not normal about the sky when he saw it. It was almost as if… as if she had said goodbye with the elaborate display of colors as an artist would convey wind in death.

He had known the feeling once before. It was a few months ago when Gwen and Theresa had their encounter in LA. The day in chapel, when he was begging for Theresa to return to him, he had felt the same emptiness, the same hollow fear, the same pain and disbelief that now haunted him. He could feel her soul and his heart had the familiar sinking feeling inside… He knew.

Luis emerged from inside the cabin to find a hysterical Ethan ready to crumble to the ground in agony. He clutched the letter in his hand and squeezed it tight, pressing it to his chest. Luis had never before seen such a broken man and yet, he knew just how much Ethan loved his sister. Images of Theresa flashed through his mind and he forced the police front back up, not allowing himself to feel too involved.

"Where's Little Ethan?" Luis asked.

Ethan continued crying, sniffing lightly, sucking up his tears and hiding his pain. "I don't know…"

Luis suddenly became worried. Gwen was gone and she was probably the only other person besides Little Ethan who knew where he was. It scared him and a new worry filled Ethan's mind. "You didn't see him at all?" Ethan didn't answer, only worrying Luis even more. "Okay, I'm gonna go check the cabin. I'll be right back." Ethan nodded and tried to compose himself again.

Luis entered the cabin again with high caution, careful to notice if Gwen had any other planted accomplices. His kept the gun at the ready and carefully perused the hallways with prudence. He passed the door where a screaming Rebecca resided. He could hear her touch a bar and yowl at the burn. Nothing but hatred filled his heart when he thought of her and her dead daughter. They had been nothing but pain in his sister's life and there was a part of him that was thankful that she would never have to deal with them again, whether she lived or not, she would be safe.

Anger raged in his heart as he cursed himself for the appealing thought of her death. He knew she'd be safe and happy without them in her life, but he needed her. Theresa was more like a daughter to him than a sister. He raised her from childhood and looked after her when their father ran out on them. Theresa was his little girl and Gwen had destroyed that.

Forcing his thoughts back to the present, Luis noticed a door with a sliver of light at the bottom. He wondered if Gwen had anyone else under her clutches. He approached and lightly put his ear to the door to listen for any noise.

There was nothing.

He waited on the side of the doorway for a second, eager to hear a voice or movement form within. Nothing happened and his gun was ready for anything. With a police-skilled spin, Luis kicked the door open and stared at the lighted room. There was a bed in the center and a closet on the side. The door seemed out of place to him, but yet, seemed to fit. There was something odd about it all.

Luis stepped into the room, carefully scanning around him and crouching to look under the bed. Even with Gwen gone, no one could be certain of her maliciousness. She could have set anything up for something like this. The knob on the closet door was near and Luis reached out to it. It was cold against his palm. His gun with high in his left hand and he twisted his right wrist slowly, carefully feeling each click of the knob. His hand shook for a second as he realized that there were no more turns left. Readying himself to open the door, Luis took a step back and aimed his gun when he pushed the door open.

What he saw before him made his heart race faster…

* * *

The ambulance raced to the nearest hospital. Pilar held Theresa's hand tightly as two paramedics worked on her. They held a compression pack against the gunshot wound in her abdomen. Tears continued to spill from Theresa's eyes and she said nothing. She was too scared of fear being her last words. There was so much she wanted to say. She wanted to say thank you to her mother for everything she'd done for her over the years of her life. She wanted to see Ethan and tell him that she could never love anyone more. She wanted to hold her son and know how he would mature throughout life. 

Pilar sat next to her, trying to fight her urge to hear her daughter speak. She cried silently, alternately looking at the monitor to make sure that her heart was still beating; it was. Morphine had been administered but still, Theresa was in emotional agony. She fully grasped the gravity of the situation and it only made it worse for her. She could hear the slowing pace of her heart and lungs within her mind and it scared her beyond belief.

"We're almost there, mija," Pilar said softly. "Just hold on, okay?"

Theresa stared up at her mother in response, trying to hold onto faith that was waning with every drop in heart rhythm. Tears fell down her face to her ears as she begged god to give her more time, time she knew was selfish to ask for. Ethan had saved her once and with the gift of a second chance, she put it in danger and destroyed it. It was all her fault.

One of the paramedics took Theresa's pulse from her wrist and as Theresa watched, she felt herself being dragged down a tunnel that she couldn't see.

"BP falling fast!" one of them screamed.

Pilar's worried eyes turned up from her daughter quickly. "What's going on!" she demanded. The dropping numbers on the monitor had reached their red color, signaling alarm. "Do something!"

The two paramedics rushed around and one of them opened a plastic box and removed a syringe. He filled with a clear liquid and pushed the adrenaline into her arm with a quick press. All watched the monitor in hopes of a raising number but Theresa stared at her mother.

"Mama…"

"Theresita… shh. Save your strength, okay? We're almost there." The driver of the ambulance pressed harder on the gas and all in the back could feel the pull of speed.

"I love you, Mama." More tears fell from her eyes.

"I love you, mija. C'mon, Theresa! Fight!"

Theresa swallowed hard. It hurt her to see the agony she was inflicting on other people. "Tell Luis--tell him… tell him I love him…" It was as if she were asking a question when she spoke.

Pilar looked at the expression in her daughter's eyes and realized there was no denying it now. It was happening and there was nothing anyone could do. "I will, Theresa…"

"Tell Little Ethan… tell him--" she could barely speak when she mentioned her son. "That I'll be watching him from the stars every night…" Pilar had to look away as she nodded to her daughter's second request. "Tell Eth--Ethan.. please… tell him that I love him. Please, Mama, will you tell him?"

"I will, Theresita. I promise."

With that, Theresa forced a smile and blinked out more tears. Another shot was put into her veins and she could no longer feel anything. Everything around her was blurring. Her mother's red eyes stared down at her and she tried to be brave. There was a faint sound in the back around her. She wasn't sure if it was the siren of the racing vehicle or if was the monitor by her side. All she knew was that she closed her eyes, trying to remember Ethan's touch and her son's face. She wasn't scared anymore…

Pilar panicked and saw the numbers stop. When Theresa's eyes closed, she fell to her face and screamed. It was out of her hands.

Luis looked into the room, not believing what he saw. The room was colorful and so full of light. There were stuffed animals everywhere and plastic toys scattered on the floor. In the center of the room was a short table covered in coloring books and crayons. Four small chairs were around the table and in one of them, was a little boy with blonde hair.

Luis wanted to cry as he stared at his nephew. He looked content and so far away from the reality of what happened to his parents. The little boy at the table was trying hard to keep his coloring within the lines. As he looked up to trade from red to orange, he noticed a man at the door.

"Tio!"

With a wide smile, Little Ethan ran from the table and into Luis' waiting arms. Luis was so full of pain and happiness as he hugged his nephew. The child's hands pressed hard onto his back and he realized how happy he was to see him. It was several minutes that passed before Luis pulled away. He was on his knees and at the same level as the little one. As he stared at his small features, it ate at his heart when he realized how much he looked like Theresa. He had the same wondrous eyes and the same spirit.

Theresa would always live within him.

Luis brushed Little Ethan's cheek, again glad to see him, and took his hand. His small fingers fit so well and slowly, Luis walked the boy out to his father.

Little Ethan was silent on the walk through the house to the front door. Luis couldn't believe that he'd found him. There was something inside of him that believed he'd never see his sister's son again. The front door was open and Luis led the little boy through to the open air. Ethan heard the crunch of gravel as they approached and turned. As soon as he saw Theresa's son, he crouched to his knees. Little Ethan ran from Luis' side and sprinted into Ethan's arms. The small body against his own melted Ethan's heart. Everything seemed so right and yet so incredibly wrong he couldn't explain.

"Daddy," Little Ethan began, "where's Mommy?"

Ethan looked up to Luis and then back to his son. He had no idea what to say to him. _What could he say?_ The innocence radiating from Little Ethan's eyes touched him. Ethan cried and wondered how he would ever be able to explain everything to the boy. "Umm… Mommy's… she's with you… everywhere you go, she'll be with you."

* * *

No one could explain how it happened and no one really wanted to question it. Three weeks had passed and all were beginning to lose hope. Theresa made it to the hospital, but far from perfect. Her blood loss was over two and a half pints and when she lost consciousness for the last time in the ambulance, doctors feared they would never see her awake again. 

Ethan went to the hospital everyday and held her hand. He begged her to respond, he begged her to let him know she was okay, and everyday, he got nothing. She was the same still being hooked up to machines and tubes. No one could be sure if she would suffer any brain damage but after three weeks, her body had begun to heal. Her wounds were closed and her shell was beginning to take it's normal form. It was her soul that had begun to worry her loved ones.

The doctors told Ethan that as her husband, he was the one that held her power of attorney, and he alone held the power to keep her on life support. The thought scared him and he didn't know how else to be. He couldn't imagine letting Theresa go, even if it meant knowing that she would never be able to hold his hand again.

With every passing day, Theresa's brain activity was dropping and Theresa's family feared that if she didn't wake soon, she never would. Little Ethan had been to visit Theresa once and it brought tears to Ethan's eyes when he told him that his mother was only sleeping. It just wasn't fair!

* * *

Another week passed and more hope was lost. Ethan again went to the hospital and held her hand. He stared at her and tried to remember what it was like to see her eyes smile when she laughed. Little Ethan ran into the room and up to his father. Pilar was soon behind him and she gave Ethan a small smile. 

"Any change?" she asked.

Ethan simply shook his head and looked down to Little Ethan in his lap. "And what are you doing here?"

"He said he wanted to kiss his mommy goodnight," Pilar answered.

Little Ethan put his hand in his mother's and Pilar held back her tears. It hurt her just as much to realize that one day, Little Ethan would know the truth and he would live without the mother that they all loved so much.

"I love you, Mommy," Little Ethan whispered.

Ethan kissed his head and held him close. "We all love you, Theresa…"

Miracles happen without knowledge, and sometimes, more than once. No one can explain how magic happens or how planets align themselves just right for the spectacular to happen, but it does. Maybe it was the two hands intertwined with Theresa's that brought it about, no one will ever know. Pilar couldn't believe it and neither could Ethan, but when Little Ethan heard it, the smile on his face let all of them know that there was something divine at work above them.

Hope was given, hope was taken, life was lost, life was found, and in the end, Theresa was meant to live. Little Ethan put his hand into his mother's and Ethan closed all three of their hands together tightly in the bond that would never break.

Theresa's hand moved and locked with theirs.

"I love you, too," she said…

The End

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it! This was my first attempt at writing a suspenseful epic-like story... I've started two more; Dangerous Love and Shattered Hearts. 

Thanks for reading and for great reviews! They keep me writing:)

- Sophia


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